Is Gautam Gambhir correct in his assessment that India lack mental strength?

In a recent interview organised by Cricinfo, Gautam Gambhir was asked what the Indian cricket team lacks. The recently retired player pointed out that there is a lack of mental toughness in the team that has contributed to a lack of silverware in the trophy cabinet.

We have not been able to handle pressure: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir talked about a lack of mental fortitude in Indian players in big matches.

When someone like Gautam Gambhir, who was pivotal in winning India not one but two World Cups, says something like this, it does make you think. Gautam Gambhir won the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 50-over World Cup on home soil.

"What sets you apart from being a good player and a very very good player is what you do in those crucial games. I think we've probably not been able to handle the pressure," Gautam Gambhir said.

When you sit back and try to analyse where the team has fallen short, you realise that there is perhaps some truth in what Gautam Gambhir said.

There is a case in point, In the most recent edition of the World Cup, India went in as one of the favourites. India were arguably one of the strongest and most all-rounded teams in the tournament. However, the World Cup dream didn't come to fruition as India were knocked out in the semifinals by New Zealand.

Retrospectively, many put down the shock loss to an unfortunate hour where the Indian top-order was decimated by the New Zealand seamers. But at the same time, many others raised some valid questions, the questions that were pertinent even before the tournament began and to an extent still need figuring out.

It was strange for everyone to watch Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, and even Hardik Pandya coming in to bat before arguably one of the greatest chasers ever in ODIs. The intent was to "save" one of their best batsmen rather than backing him to deliver the goods and take the team home.

It was an approach that was widely criticised on air by Saurav Ganguly and many others, and ultimately it did leave the team in tatters as India crashed out of the World Cup.

Many put India's failed 2019 World Cup campaign down to one bad hour against New Zealand..

The Indian innings was a tragedy of errors. Dinesh Karthik, picked up to play the role of a finisher, batted at number five. Established hitters like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya were given the onus of playing out the new ball, while a player averaging more than 50 and with more than 9000 runs in ODIs was sitting in the dressing room.

As Gautam Gambhir rightly pointed out, a champion team's DNA is reflected in how it deals with adversity. The current Indian side has shown fragility on that front.

Whenever the team has faced some adversity, it has wilted. It did the same in the game against England in the World Cup. Ambati Rayudu was all of a sudden dropped and the team went to the World Cup without an established number four. Rayudu's exclusion from the World Cup team was completely out of the blue and is a personification of how not to handle a player.

Let's accept one thing, Virat Kohli is currently blessed with arguably one of the best teams in the world. The top three in the Indian team is just too dominant for anyone and the bowling attack has wicket-takers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

On paper, this team should win most of its matches. However, this team has struggled in the past when it faced adversity. In such times, the Indian team yields to the opposition. This is something that has been the reason why the current outfit hasn't won as much silverware as it should have.

Gautam Gambhir is correct when he points out the lack of mental fortitude in the Indian team. In many ways, this brings the leadership of the Indian team into question as well. During any moment of doubt, the much-needed decisiveness has been missing in the team on far too many occasions.

There's just too much uncertainty around Dhoni's future in Indian cricket

For instance, let's have a look at the uncertainty around MS Dhoni. No concrete statements have come out from the Indian management. Either it should be, "Yes, He's a legend of the game, whenever he makes a comeback, he'll play for the team," or it should be "Dhoni needs to prove himself again before he gets to walk back into the team."

There were talks about Rohit Sharma replacing Virat Kohli as the captain of the limited overs unit. Maybe that's what the team needs right now. A change of leadership, a change of thought process, and maybe in the future that helps in changing the way how the team deals with adversity.

In many ways, Gautam Gambhir is spot-on in pointing out the Indian team's lack of mental strength. An introduction of a fresher perspective in the team could work wonders. But it remains to be seen what the team management would do in this regard: whether it opts to take Gautam Gambhir's words in good faith and work in improving the team's mental strength or consign Gautam Gambhir's observation to cold storage.