The head coach of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) cricket team, Justin Langer, has made a very straightforward comment regarding the end of the superiority of the Indian National Cricket Team in home Tests.
Justin Langer straight out asserted that the Indian National Cricket Team is not going to lose its home advantage ever since there are such extremely skilled players in the country.
India has seen defeat in 4 out of the last 6 home Tests
Team India was invincible in the home Test matches till Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as the head coach of the side. They played an amazing cricket style at home and were not defeated in any series for more than a decade.
A number of teams would visit India during that time, but they were subjected to heavy beatings by the local crowd and simply could not win over the home team. The breakthrough happened in late 2024, however, when New Zealand achieved a historic clean sweep by defeating India.
It was a complete disgrace for the Indian team as they had to bear the brunt of a 0-3 whitewash in Tests at home for the first time in history and get the ire of and criticism from the fans and the experts.
They have just recently managed to redeem themselves by winning the Test series against the West Indies 2-0 at home, but yet lost one more significant Test match against the South Africa National Cricket Team.
The Shubman Gill captained side had to taste a bitter 30-run defeat against the Proteas after they had created an extremely bowling-friendly pitch at Eden Gardens in Kolkata..
I am sure there are still too many good players in India, thus I would not say that – Justin Langer
At the same time, Justin Langer believes that India’s reign at home will last eternally, and the recent losses are merely the result plus the process of foreign players gaining India’s exposure through the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Anyone who dares to claim that it is the end of (home domination) in this country must be a more courageous person than me since I would never say that, there is too much talent in India,” Langer told TOI.
“My greatest career highlight was winning over such a strong opponent as India in the 2004 series because it had always felt impossible to win in India. That was the Mount Everest moment of our career. So it’s really fascinating, isn’t it, that we are seeing a little shift with visiting countries winning over India in India? Maybe it’s because some of the other countries and their players are playing in the IPL too,” Langer, the brand ambassador of NiviCap, said here on Monday.
India has a very strong team and the players would feel bad about it-Justin Langer
Justin Langer went on to say that the home team would surely feel bad about losing the first Test and would seek for immediate redemption through the next match.
“Keep in mind that some of the Indian players just returned from the (Nov 8 concluded) white-ball series in Australia, where the conditions are opposite to the ones in Kolkata”. “With just a few days’ adjustment, they may still exhibit discomfort in their feet. India has some really good players in their squad; they will be upset and they will fight back in the next Test match.”
Speaking of the Ashes, Justin Langer mentioned that Joe Root would not face any pressure during the series to get his maiden century in Australia. He commented:
“Root is the player with the highest number of Test runs among all the players in English cricket history. He is a legend. Although he still hasn’t made a Test century (in Australia) right now. Will he do it in the next five matches? That is something we need to wait and see how it goes.. But, he is under no pressure (to get the elusive century).”
