“None of them did it on purpose”: Gautam Gambhir Defends Young Indian Side After Catching Lapses in Headingley Defeat

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has thrown his support behind the national team following a five-wicket defeat to England in the opening Test at Headingley, urging critics to show perspective after a string of costly dropped catches contributed to the loss.

India, under new Test captain Shubman Gill and without the senior figures of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, began the match brightly, showcasing batting dominance with a total of 471 in the first innings. The top order delivered emphatically, with five Indian batters notching centuries and collectively scoring 721 runs across both innings. However, a stark contrast was evident in the lower order, which collapsed in both innings, adding just 65 runs overall and exposing India’s persistent tail-end frailties.

Despite the strong start, the match slipped from India’s grasp, in large part due to missed opportunities in the field. Six chances were shelled across both innings, with young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal dropping three, including a regulation catch off Ben Duckett on 97 on the final day. Duckett went on to complete a match-winning 149, sealing a remarkable fourth-innings chase of 371 for England.

Addressing the media after the match, Gambhir firmly backed his players and dismissed suggestions that the errors were the result of carelessness. “Catches do get dropped. The best fielders have missed catches. None of them did it on purpose,” he stated, defending the team amid a wave of criticism following the fielding lapses.

Gambhir also acknowledged the disappointment with India’s lower-order performance, particularly the rapid collapses in both innings that halted their momentum. “Yes, from a batting point of view, it’s disappointing because, in the first innings, we lost seven wickets for 40 runs and six for 30 in the second. When we had the opportunity to make around 600, we missed the chance to truly dominate,” he noted.

Still, the coach remained optimistic, highlighting that India had been competitive throughout the match and had multiple opportunities to assert control. “These things happen. Hopefully, we can learn going into the second Test. The good thing was that we had opportunities across all five days where we could have dominated,” he added.

England’s victory gave them a 1-0 lead in the five-match series and delivered an early blow to India’s aspirations under a new leadership regime. However, Gambhir’s message was one of patience and development, particularly for a young side finding its footing in the post-Kohli-Rohit era.

India will look to bounce back and level the series when the second Test gets underway in Birmingham next week, with the focus firmly on fielding discipline and lower-order resilience.