Former captain and opener of Team India, Gautam Gambhir, wants the present team to play in the England Test series as the No. 1 Test side, irrespective of the conditions provided by the opposition.
Cricket news: Gambhir said that the key to winning Test matches is to have good bowling attack
Gambhir, who is known for his on-field aggression, feels that India should approach the series, which begins from August 1 at Edgbaston, with a positive attitude and show the opposition who is the boss.
India is currently at top of the ICC Test rankings with 125 rating points while England is on No. 5 with 97 rating points.
Gambhir, who played his last Test match against England at Rajkot in the 2016-17 series, said that the bowlers should send out a message that they have come to take all 20 wickets. He said that India should go into the match with a bowling attack which can dismiss the entire opposition.
The 36-year-old said in an interview to Cricbuzz, “Irrespective of how the conditions are, try and play like a number 1 Test side in the world. Because you are here as the number 1 Test side. You try and express the opposition that we are here as a number 1 Test side in the world. Try to go with the attitude and try to go irrespective of what the results are.”
Gambhir said that even if the batsmen fail to score more than 250-300, the bowlers should get the job done. Gambhir, who had played 58 Tests for India among which 12 are against England, said that “winning mindset” is always needed in a Test series.
Gambhir also said that “bits and pieces” bowling will only reveal a defensive mentality which will not provide a possibility of succeeding in a Test match.
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan, who was also present in the interview believes that if India could replicate the performance that had done in South Africa earlier this year, then they will surely get a positive result.