India men's head coach Gautam Gambhir has reiterated the need for the team to improve at 'reading the game' in the aftermath of their crushing 125-run defeat against England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, July 7.

India is currently down 2-0 in the series, with the first game at Chester-le-Street being washed out. The team have played five T20I matches since their World Cup triumph in March, having lost four. The recent loss was also their highest ever by margin of runs. Gambhir stated that since the Ireland series, where they were blanked 2-0 in a historic moment, the team have struggled to assess situations in-game.

"I think we just haven't played well. You don't become a bad team after four games. Sometimes, if the opposition plays better than you, sometimes you don't assess the conditions better, you don't read the conditions better. Reading the game is equally important as well. We haven't done that since Ireland," he said in the post-match press conference, as reported by Cricbuzz.

Across the two T20Is, India have struggled against quality pace, with their struggles amplified in Nottingham. Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue took seven wickets amongst them in a fiery spell in tandem as the team in blue were bowled out for 76. Gambhir amplified the need to get better at playing pace, and acknowledged the team having an off day. 

"I don't know what England is going to try and do, but we have got to keep getting better at playing pace. And more importantly, I thought that today was probably one of the off days, because if you see the last two T20Is, we have got 190 on the board in both. So sometimes when you play a high-risk kind of game, these things can happen," Gambhir added.

Since their successful run in the ICC T20 World Cup, India have undergone a major shake-up, with Shreyas Iyer taking over as captain of the side. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah are nursing significant injuries, while Harshit Rana has returned after a significant knee issue.

Gambhir stated that during transition phases like these, there will be odd poor results, especially while missing key names. He emphasised the importance of giving players the freedom and room to develop further, with players like Prince Yadav and the prodigious 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi playing just their second match in T20Is.

"If you see, there have been changes to this T20 team. When you go to reset your T20 side, then many times you get such performances. If you see the playing XI of the World Cup final and the one today, there are a lot of changes. Whether you take the captain, the opening batters, Hardik Pandya is not there, Jasprit Bumrah is not there. So when you go to reset again, it takes a little time," Gambhir said.

"A 15-year-old player is opening the batting, you have Prince Yadav who just played his second T20I. There's Harshit Rana who is just coming back from injury. It's very easy to say things but ultimately we see the results and no doubt, results are important in international cricket. But being practical is also very important.

"Many times you give time to the players to grow, to develop. But especially against such a team - England are a high-quality side - if you push players into such a deep sea, give them a little time and they will eventually develop. Because after a reset, things take time to get back to normal," he added.

The fourth T20I of the series will be played in Bristol on Thursday, July 9. If the Men in Blue concede this game as well, they will certainly be ending the five-match series on a losing note.