EXCLUSIVE: 'It has only been a year...': Sourav Ganguly defends Gautam Gambhir despite India's dismal record under him in Test cricket

Former India captain feels that it is too early to take any type of call on head coach Gautam Gambhir as the latter has only been in that position for a year so far. This comes after the five-match Test series between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw. The Men in Blue won a thriller at the Keinnington Oval and levelled up the series in the final match, denying England from winning the first-ever Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, Ganguly stated that Gambhir deserves more time as the side's head coach and remarked that he has already formed a good and young team.

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"Let Gambhir do it. He is doing well. I have said this before. When he went to Australia and England, give him time. It's only been a year. He has formed a good team. He is young. He was losing in Australia. He was losing 3-0 to New Zealand but give him time. He is doing well. Let him do it. We will see," Ganguly told Sports Tak.

Ganguly also feels that the Indian team is already prepared for life after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He added that the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant will help the team in going forward and getting positive results in the future.

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"Absolutely. Nothing is withheld for anyone. India has so much talent. Have you seen everyone's performance in batting? Outstanding. Indian cricket is like this. If Gavaskar goes, Tendulkar comes. Tendulkar comes, Dravid comes, Laxman comes, Sehwag comes. If he goes, Kohli comes. If Kohli leaves cricket, then Yashashvi, Pant, Shubman Gill. Indian cricket has so much talent that it will continue to grow. Good setup, good system, good domestic structure. IPL is such a big platform. They play everywhere. Cricket is played at every level. Under-19, A-Team, Senior Team. Indian cricket is very strong," Ganguly stated.

India have moved to the third place on WTC standings

Meanwhile, India moved up to the third place on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table after their 6-run victory over England in sixth Test. The Men in Blue currently have a win percentage of 46.67 which is only inferior to Australia and Sri Lanka, who are ranked first and second respectively on the table. The Indian team's next red-ball assignment will be a two-match tour to the West Indies which is set to commence from October 2.

The above interview was conducted by Anirban Sinha Roy, a West Bengal-based multimedia journalist who primarily covers sports for India Today and Sports Tak.