Gautam Gambhir offers prayers at famous Kolkata temple ahead of IND vs ENG 2025 1st T20I [Watch]
India's head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen offering prayers at the Kalighat Temple in Kolkata on Tuesday, January 21, ahead of the five-match T20I series against England. The series begins on Wednesday, January 22, with the first game set to take place at Eden Gardens.
Following the T20I series, India will play a three-match ODI series against England. The focus will then shift to the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, where India has been placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand. Rohit Sharma and his team will begin their campaign with a match against Bangladesh on February 20, with all of India’s games being hosted in Dubai.
Ahead of these crucial fixtures, head coach Gautam Gambhir offered prayers at the famous Kalighat Temple in Kolkata.
Here’s a video of his visit:
Meanwhile, India endured a setback in their most recent series, the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where they lost 3-1. This defeat marked their failure to qualify for the World Test Championship final for the first time.
“He's only just sort of got underway with this team” - Brendon McCullum defends Gautam Gambhir amid criticism
Since taking over as India's head coach from Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir has struggled to achieve the desired results. The Men in Blue lost a bilateral ODI series to Sri Lanka (2-0) for the first time in 27 years, followed by a 3-0 defeat to New Zealand at home — the first time in 12 years that India lost a home Test series.
Most recently, India failed to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years. Amid growing criticism, England's head coach Brendon McCullum defended the 43-year-old during a press conference ahead of the first T20I against India, stating (via Times of India):
"What I will say about Gautam Gambhir is I've worked with him before and he's an outstanding leader. He's a really strong leader of men and in the time that he's had in any sort of leadership positions which he's held previously, he's been able to excel I'm sure."
"He's only just sort of got underway with this team but I have no doubt that he'll get the best out of the talent that he's got. And then we've (England) got to find a way to be able to counter that with our own style,” he added.
The former New Zealand cricketer played for Kolkata Knight Riders under Gambhir's captaincy during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, with the franchise clinching their maiden title in 2012.