"Same situation as Dhoni's team" - Former India batter's massive claim ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former Indian batter WV Raman believes Shubman Gill's Test side could spring a surprise in the upcoming England series, much like MS Dhoni's men in the 2007 T20 World Cup. A young Indian team, led by new captain Gill, will take on England in a five-Test series, starting at Leeds on Friday, June 20.

With the recent Test retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin, the Asian giants will field a relatively inexperienced side on the England tour. The odds are against them, with England unbeaten in a home Test series since the middle of 2022.

Talking about the new-look Test side and their chances in England in an interview with TOI, Raman said:

"People are not calling this the Rohit's team until he started succeeding as a captain in white ball cricket. The same happened with Virat in red ball cricket. So, it gets dubbed as the captain's team when he starts doing well when he stays put for a long period of time as a captain. As far as this particular team is concerned, even though there's a lot of apprehension about how the series will pan out, I for one think this team is in the same situation as Dhoni's team when they embarked on the first T20 World Cup."

He added:

"There are no expectations. So, that is a big advantage for this side. That's a real big advantage for this side. And they have everything to gain. The only way is up. And I think therein lies this team to spring a surprise."

India defeated England in a five-match home series the previous time the two teams met in the red-ball format by a 4-1 margin. However, they have struggled in Tests in England, with their last series win coming in 2007.

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"We didn't do this with his predecessors" - WV Raman on Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir

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Gautam Gambhir has struggled as India's head coach in Tests [Credit: Getty]

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WV Raman urged discussions related to head coach Gautam Gambhir to remain in the background of Indian cricket, like his predecessors. Despite incredible success in the white-ball formats, Gambhir's head coaching tenure in Tests has not gone to plan.

After winning 2-0 in a home Test affair against Bangladesh, India lost back-to-back series to New Zealand and Australia by 0-3 and 1-3 margins, respectively.

"It's not all about the coach all the time. Yes, we all know Gambhir is a good tactician. He's also a very intense man. And he's also got the best interest of the team at heart. So, we got to try and forget the fact that everything should be related to the coach. We didn't do this with his predecessors. We are doing it with him, if you remember. So, coach is always somebody who's got to stay in the background," said Raman (via the aforementioned source).

He added:

"We should allow the coach to do his job. And he's going to take all the decisions based on how he sees things. Because he's the one who is completely aware of what is exactly happening with each and every individual in the side. And then as far as this team is concerned, this will always be a team under the title of a captain who is successful."

The consecutive series losses at the end of last year meant India missed the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time in tournament history.

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