“He is under pressure as a coach” - Michael Atherton issues a warning to Gautam Gambhir

Former England captain and commentator Michael Atherton has issued a warning to the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, stating that losing three consecutive Test series would be a big headache for the former Delhi batter.

Notably, India entered the England tour on the back of a home series whitewash to New Zealand by 0-3, followed by a 1-3 series defeat to Australia Down Under in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

With the visitors going down in the series by 1-2 in the ongoing England series, Atherton feels Gambhir would be under extreme pressure as a coach, as a series defeat here in England might cost him his career.

"Well, they've lost two series in a row. They lost at home to New Zealand 3-0 and they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1. If they lose this series then yeah, he's under pressure as a coach,” said Atherton on Sky Sports.

"India, with all their resources, their population strength, they're not a team that people are patient with. They're expected to win every time they walk onto the park. So, three Test series defeats in a row would be a problem for him," he added.

Moving into the details of the fifth and final Test at the Oval in London, India, led by Shubman Gill, made four important changes to their playing XI. While Dhruv Jurel came in to replace the injured Rishabh Pant as keeper-batter, Prasidh Krishna has replaced rested Jasprit Bumrah.

Moreover, Akash Deep, who missed the fourth Test with a back injury, is back for the fifth Test, replacing Anshul Kamboj, who had a poor debut in the Manchester Test. Also, Karun Nair replaced the bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur.

India playing XI for the fifth Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at BetBarter and download the BetBarter app to start betting today!