BIG action against head coach Gautam Gambhir after Team India’s whitewash against New Zealand
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir had being given a free reign by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since his appointment after the T20 World Cup 2024. Former India opener Gambhir got his choice of support staff with the likes of Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate joining him along with former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel.
In the support staff, apart from Morkel, no one has any experience of playing in Test cricket. Gambhir was also given unprecedented say in the selection with the head coach being part of the selection of the squad for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) against Australia later this month.
However, India’s first-ever Test series whitewash against New Zealand has put the focus firmly back on Gambhir. The head coach, who was given a free hand in selection matters, may not have as much say in issues concerning the team in the coming times.
Since Gambhir took over as head coach, India have lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, and then New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of his side in Tests at home on Sunday, something the team never experienced in its long cricketing journey.
Gautam Gambhir As A ICT Coach :-
– After 27yrs, Lost A Bilateral ODI Series vs SL
– For 1st Time, Lost 30 Wickets In A 3 Match ODI Series
– After 45yrs, India Remained Winless In A Calendar Year In ODIs
– After 36yrs, India Lost Test vs NZ At Home
– After 19yrs, India Lost Test… pic.twitter.com/rac4zXPxWw— Aufridi Chumtya (@ShuhidAufridi) November 3, 2024
Agreeing to send pacer Mohammed Siraj as night-watchman on the second evening of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai and Sarfaraz Khan at No. 8 in the first innings are some of the tactical moves that are being questioned by everyone.
“Gautam Gambhir was given access which his predecessors Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid didn’t have. The BCCI’s rule book doesn’t allow coaches to be a part of the selection committee meetings, but for Australia tour selection meeting, an exception was made. The head coach was allowed to attend considering the magnitude of the tour,” a senior BCCI official told news agency PTI.
At least two players – Delhi and KKR speedster Harshit Rana and Andhra and SRH all-rounder Nitish Reddy – are in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) squad on the insistence of the head coach.
However, Rana wasn’t given any white-ball game in either Sri Lanka or during the home series against Bangladesh. It was reported that he was released before the last match as he was unwell but within a week, he was back bowling in the India nets in Bengaluru. And then, he had a good Ranji Trophy outing against Assam.
There was a school of thought that believed Rana, rather than featuring in Ranji Trophy, could have been sent to Australia with the India ‘A’ team as playing one or two first-class games on bouncy tracks there would have allowed him to hit the right length before the Test series.
Coming to Reddy, he got into a tangle while facing a short ball in the ‘A’ game and his bowling, which is certainly not good enough to be among the main five bowlers, has also raised concerns. Impressed with Reddy’s T20 skills, Gambhir was convinced that he can be the ideal replacement of Hardik Pandya as the seam bowling all-rounder.