Following India's comprehensive 7-wicket victory over West Indies at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi, Gautam Gambhir was invited by his counterpart Darren Sammy to the Caribbean side's dressing room. The India head coach not only intreracted with Sammy, but also gave an inspiring speech to the players and advised them to always remain humble in both victory and defeat.
Gambhir also told the West Indian players that they are great role models and thanked them for touring India and competing in a Test series against the Men in Blue.
“First of all, thank you for having me over, inviting me. Most importantly, thank you for touring us. It’s always a privilege to play the West Indies, whether it’s at home or away," Gambhir said in a video shared by BCCI.
“The most important thing, I was telling Darren this as well, is the way you guys carry yourself, on and off the field. It’s a great learning, the way you guys carry yourselves off the field, your humility, your humbleness is something that my team and a lot of teams across the globe have to learn from. Being absolutely ruthless on the field, and I think you guys are great role models," he added.
Gambhir expressed faith in current West Indies team
Gambhir further went on to state that it is West Indies' purpose that sets them apart from the other international teams. He highlighted that purpose is more important than love for the game and expressed faith in the current West Indies team to inspire the next generation of cricketers.
“Many teams play because they love the game, and there are very few teams that have someone like the West Indies, a purpose to play this game. You have a purpose, and purpose is always more important than love. The purpose, when I look at you guys, I believe you guys can inspire the next generation of West Indies cricket. Big contributions only make headlines. If you want to be a really good team, that will be important," Gambhir stated.
Meanwhile, West Indies' next red-ball assignment will be a three-match series against New Zealand that will commence from December 2. The Windies are yet to record a victory in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and will be hoping to put an end to their five-match losing streak in their upcoming games.