Gautam Gambhir has faced a lot of criticism for India’s whitewashes in two Test series at home.

TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Andy Flower is walking on crutches, but he is still diligently doing his job as a commentator in the fourth edition of the ILT20. The 57-year-old suffered a hip-hamstring injury after an accident while surfing in Sri Lanka.The legendary cricketer says he is recovering and is in Dubai to scout for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the team he guided to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 18 years. Flower had also led Gulf Giants to the championship in the inaugural ILT20 season.

“I am without doubt scouting as well, absolutely. We have set up a very good scouting system at RCB. Part of that is having guys like me and DK (Dinesh Karthik), who are involved in this tournament, keeping an eye on talent,” he told the media on the sidelines of the MI Emirates vs Gulf Giants match at the Dubai International Stadium.

A grand opening ceremony kicked off the Season 4 of ILT20

“I love being involved in the game, whether it’s coaching or commentating. I obviously loved my time as a player as well. I feel very privileged to still be part of dressing rooms and be alongside some amazing cricketers.”Flower, who is currently RCB’s head coach, is also keeping a close watch on Virat Kohli, who has just smashed consecutive centuries in the ODIs against South Africa.“I really enjoyed watching the last couple of ODI games. I haven’t caught the whole game, but I’ve watched snippets, and it was wonderful to see Virat bat the way he is batting. He is not playing as much cricket as he used to, but it was great to see him still display an incredible standard of cricket and the hunger for runs,” said Flower.Flower also defended his former colleague and India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is under pressure after India’s Test series loss to South Africa — their second home series defeat inside a year after New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep.

“I have tremendous respect for Gautam Gambhir,” he said.“I really enjoyed working with him, and I certainly valued our partnership when he was a mentor — quite a forceful mentor — at Lucknow Super Giants. I also enjoyed our interactions when we crossed paths internationally. I respect him a lot as a player and as a leader. I don’t think all responsibility should be placed on one individual, but I know he has never shirked responsibility.“We (Zimbabwe) were a reasonably competitive unit for a small country, and if someone produced seeming pitches against us, it brought us into the game. We didn’t have the pace, power, or class that bigger teams did.”Flower stressed that with India’s talent pool, they don’t need rank turners at home.“If pitches turn excessively in India, it brings the two sides closer. I don’t think the pitches need to turn that much for India to win Test matches,” he said. “They have a very talented team that can take four or five days to win a game. They don’t need extreme pitches.”