‘All these games were played in a bio-secure bubble’ - Gautam Gambhir urges fans to not go harsh on Team India

Team India endured a horrendous campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021 and subsequently got knocked out of the semi-final race. The Virat Kohli-led team stepped into the competition as favourites with numerous T20 stalwarts in the ranks. However, the inaugural-edition champions couldn’t live up to the expectations and suffered defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in their first couple of fixtures.

Although India did record emphatic wins against Afghanistan and Scotland, it won’t help them to go through. The Men in Blue will now meet Namibia in a dead rubber before departing from UAE. Notably, this is the first time since 2012 when India didn’t the knock-out stage of an ICC event. Needless to mention, fans and experts weren’t amused as Indian players faced criticism from different quarters.

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir is also not amused with India’s below-par performance. However, the southpaw requested fans to not go hard on the team and understand the fact that the players were in a bio-secure bubble for a long time.

Gautam Gambhir comes out in defense of the Indian team

“Before we take them to the cleaners, please pause and think that all these games were played in a bio-secure bubble. But players were training at home, taking flights, quarantining in a hotel room, living a bubbled life to play and entertain you and me. Yes, they are paid handsomely and it’s a professional world out there…blah…blah..blah… How about just saying, well tried, boys,” Gambhir wrote in his column for the Times of India.

The cricketer-turned-politician also questioned the tournament’s format. There have been claims of differences in quality between the two groups drawn in the Super 12s. Hence, Gambhir reckons the International Cricket Council (ICC) should have organized a league format like the 2019 World Cup rather than round-robin.

“Is there a lesson there for the organisers? Should the format be a round-robin, where every team plays each other, rather than have two groups?” questioned Gambhir. Meanwhile, India’s last league-stage against Nambia is scheduled to take place on Monday (November 8) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Although India don’t have anything to lose, a defeat against Nambia is the last thing they would want.