Gautam Gambhir wants his players to make their own history rather than following anyone from the past, including the India head coach himself. And, after a memorable comeback in the Manchester Test, they are moving in that direction.

A 188-run stand between captain Shubman Gill and KL Rahul kept India in the fourth Test against England before Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja earned a spirited draw for the visitors with an unbeaten 203-run alliance. Asked if Gambhir gave a pep talk to the players after Day Four and made a reference to his match-saving 137 in Napier back in 2009, Gambhir responded in the negative.

“Look, the first thing is that I don’t remember any of my knocks, that has become history. I think they should make their own history. Honestly, no one in this team will follow anyone or want to follow. They should make their own history. “They want to fight for the common man back home. And the important thing is that the way a lot of people had written us off in this Test match, this is the foundation of this team,” said the head coach.