Gautam Gambhir‘s stint as the India cricket team’s head coach could be a short one. Having been handed the opportunity in July, Gambhir might have to either step down or be removed depending on how Team India performs in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
Gambhir as head coach
Since taking over Rahul Dravid, Gambhir has won three series and lost two. He started by winning 3-0 in T20Is against Sri Lanka, but the first defeat came soon after as India lost an ODI series to their neighbours after 27 years. History was created, and not in a good way for Gambhir. Things were back on track soon, with a Test series victory (2-0) over Bangladesh, which was followed by a 3-0 win in T20Is over the Tigers.
However, no one was prepared for what was to come. Losing 0-3 to New Zealand. First Test series defeat at home since 2012, having gone undefeated in 18 series prior. The worst, of course, was that it was the first time Team India had been whitewashed at home in a series over 3 or more matches. That too, to a Kiwi team without Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santner, Pune Test hero, not even playing.
Some questionable calls
But these weren’t even that big challenges. If winning BGT was thought of as a mountain to climb, it was Mount Kilimanjaro before, and now it’s Everest. According to PTI, Gambhir’s insistence on having a big turner in Mumbai hasn’t pleased many at the BCCI, especially after New Zealand had already beaten India on a spinning Pune pitch to win the series.
Moreover, some of his decisions have been head-scratching. The decision to play two pacers in both Pune and Mumbai despite the pitches looking dry. Sending Mohammed Siraj as nightwatchman or Ravindra Jadeja over Sarfaraz Khan in the third Test looked odd. Moreover, Washington Sundar could have been promoted over at least Ravichandran Ashwin more than once; instead, he played thrice at number nine. In the end, Sundar scored 89 runs at 44.5 while Ashwin managed just 51 runs at 8.5 despite playing one less Test.
BCCI had granted Gambhir a rare opportunity to be part of the selection committee for the BGT 2024-25. It’s been believed that he had a big influence on Harshit Rana getting picked for the Australia Test series despite having little to no experience in first-class cricket.
Gambhir has seen Harshit from close quarters at the Kolkata Knight Riders and surely has trust in him, but then why wasn’t he sent for India A’s tour to Australia A? Is it better that he played in Delhi against Assam or plays on bouncy Australian tracks to get ready for BGT?
