'We'll NEVER Surrender': Gautam Gambhir's defiant message after India's historic Oval win

Following Team India’s swashbuckling victory at The Oval by 6 runs, head coach Gautam Gambhir has disseminated a message of fortitude. Gambhir, who took over the helm of Indian cricket in July 2024, has had a tough tenure till now, particularly in the longest format of the game. Under his command, Team India suffered a 0-3 clean sweep against New Zealand at home and then lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Australia. The pressure of those two series defeats drew immense criticism towards him, so much so that many demanding enthusiasts of Indian cricket called for his sacking.

Amid all the concerns, India underwent a massive transition, which saw Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin bid adieu to Test cricket. Sharma’s departure left the Test captaincy void, and subsequently, Shubman Gill was entrusted with the responsibility.

Gautam Gambhir gives his kudos to Team India

With the major shake-up in the squad and a new captain, India toured England, which has always proven to be a challenging turf for every Indian team. Moreover, even captains like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have failed to win a series in England. With everything that had happened in the lead up to the series, the pressure to deliver was immense on Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir.

As it turned out, the unit filled with young guns was up for the challenge and tackled the formidable conditions with valour. The team refused to back out till the end in every Test, and gleaned a satisfying outcome from the series. India endured two losses and inflicted two defeats on the home side to conclude the five-match affair at a 2-2 score line.

Referring to the final result of the series, Gambhir posted a defiant statement on X. Saying that “We’ll win some, we’ll lose some…. but we’ll NEVER surrender! Well done, boys!”

While India succeeded in evading a series defeat in England, in hindsight, they will reflect on the moments, which, if they had chanced upon then, they could have taken an unassailable lead and would have captured the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.