"The most pressure on this tour was on him" - Former India batter's huge statement on Gautam Gambhir after ENG vs IND 2025 5th Test

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif heaped massive praise on head coach Gautam Gambhir after the fifth Test against England at The Oval. The visitors beat England by six runs to level the five-match series 2-2 thrillingly.

Kaif highlighted how Gautam Gambhir was under the most pressure on this tour than anybody else. Notably, India had lost 0-3 to New Zealand at home and 3-1 to Australia down under in Gambhir's first two Test series as head coach. A series defeat in England would have been a third consecutive one.

The visitors were 1-2 behind ahead of the final Test and on the verge of a possible series defeat. Kaif asserted that Gambhir must be given due credit for guiding them to a series draw.

"The most pressure on this tour was on him. As a coach, he was not as successful in Tests. I feel people were waiting that if India lost this Test, the most criticism would be on him. People wait to make his memes on social media and talk bad about him. Maybe this would have been his last in Tests as a coach if India had lost. There was that much pressure on him. But where it is due, we must praise him wholeheartedly," he said on his YouTube channel. (7:25)

The former batter lauded Gambhir for sticking to his decision of maintaining batting depth. There was criticism for not playing wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and going with a defensive approach. In hindsight, the head coach's call to have depth in the batting proved beneficial, as Kaif highlighted.

"We all said that Kuldeep must play in Bumrah's absence but Gambhir stuck to having batting depth. He wanted batting till number eight and his decision proved right. The two Tests we won, you look at Jadeja's and Sundar's roles there. As there was depth in batting, we could score runs and then the series ended in a draw as we could win. It was a good decision. He was there with a young team. I can understand how much pressure was on him," he added. (8:34)

Mohammad Kaif also hailed Gambhir for bringing back the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep for the final Test and backing Washington Sundar.

---

"People will buy tickets and go to watch Siraj" - Mohammad Kaif's huge praise for star Indian pacer

Mohammad Kaif was also highly impressed with Mohammad Siraj and the way he bowled throughout the series, particularly at The Oval. Kaif reflected that Siraj had a tough journey, but never gave up.

"His journey was tough. He was bowled at Lord's and India lost the Test. It was a big blow and he was very disappointed. At The Oval, he dropped Brook on 19 as his leg hit the fence. Brook scored a ton and it looked like England would win. But Mohammed Siraj's story was different. When he got the ball, he made a comeback and won India the game. He made amends. It is a story of passion and commitment," he said. (2:48)

Siraj picked up a fifer in the final innings at The Oval as the visitors successfully defended 274 runs to level the series. He had bagged four wickets in the first innings as well and returned match figures of 9/190. Kaif expressed that people would now buy tickets to watch Siraj bowl after his heroics in England.

"Now people will buy tickets to watch his bowling. We always tell such things for batters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma. Now people will buy tickets and go to watch Siraj," he added.

Siraj ended as the leading wicket-taker of the series with 23 scalps from five matches. He maintained an average of 32.43 and bagged two five-wicket hauls. He was awarded 'Player of the Match' at The Oval.