Coach Gautam Gambhir’s performance under the scanner after disaster in Sri Lanka and India

Unprecedented series defeats against Sri Lanka and New Zealand have put Gautam Gambhir under immense pressure barely three months after taking over as head coach of the Indian team. He was appointed to the top post amid much fanfare and was also given a rare seat at the selection committee meeting for the tour of Australia. However, his initial report clearly indicates that things are not looking good for the former India opener.

Unless there is a remarkable turnaround Down Under, Gambhir, who was given a free hand in selection matters, may not have much say in issues affecting the team in the near future. Immediately after Gambhir took over the reins, India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years. New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash from his side during Tests at home on Sunday, something the team has never experienced in its long cricketing journey.

While there is only so much the coach can do, questions are now being raised about the lack of caution shown in opting for a rank changer in Mumbai despite the fact that the top flight has failed time and time again over the last six to seven years the field of quality. spin bowling on wickets with a decent turn. Even Gambhir’s philosophy of playing the same way come hell or high water is something that those closely associated with Indian cricket have not been able to fathom.

Agreeing to send pacer Mohammed Siraj as nightwatchman on the second night of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai and Sarfaraz Khan at number 8 in the first innings are some of the tactical moves that are being questioned by everyone. “Gautam Gambhir was given access that his predecessors Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid did not have. The BCCI rulebook does not allow coaches to be part of the selection committee meetings, but an exception was made for the selection meeting for the Australia tour.

“The head coach was allowed to attend considering the scale of the tour,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity. At least two players – Delhi and KKR speedster Harshit Rana and Andhra and SRH all-rounder Nitish Reddy – are part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) squad at the insistence of the head coach.

However, Rana did not get a single white-ball game in Sri Lanka or during the home series against Bangladesh. It was reported that he was released before the final match as he was not feeling well, but within a week he was back bowling in the India nets in Bengaluru. And then he had a good Ranji Trophy performance against Assam.

There was a school of thought that believed that instead of playing in the Ranji Trophy, Rana could have been sent to Australia with the India A team as playing one or two first-class matches on spring courses would have given him an opportunity there to hit the right side. length before the test series.

Instead, he was turned into a net bowler for the just-concluded Test series in which two of the three lanes were rank turners.

When he joined Reddy, he got flustered while facing a short ball in the ‘A’ game and his bowling, which is certainly not good enough to be among the top five bowlers, has also raised concerns .

Gambhir was impressed with Reddy’s T20 skills and was confident that he can be the ideal replacement for Hardik Pandya as the bowling all-rounder.

The Australia series will be a test for Gambhir as he may also have to become the harbinger of doom for some senior players and show them the mirror as the board watches his moves from the sidelines.

The whitewash has also brought the maverick Delhi man under the lens.

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