Ever since Gautam Gambhir took over the coach of Team India in July last year, the results have been rather poor. First, the team lost the ODI series in Sri Lanka, and then went on to face defeats against New Zealand and Australia in Tests. To top it all, there have been various reports suggesting, that he isn’t on the same page as the senior players — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Gautam Gambhir vs Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli
A lot has been also said about their retirements as well. In short, all these controversies are reminiscent of what happened during the tumultuous Greg Chappell era, where the latter was accused of creating a rift between the team. Soon, he was rightfully sacked. Now, as per a report in PTI, an ex-selector during Ravi Shastri’s tenure has opened up on Gambhir’s tenure as a coach, and the alleged rifts in the team.
“Either you be like Ravi Shastri, who would be media-friendly, or give those sound bites propping up players making them look like alpha males,” said the former selector. “Or be like Rahul Dravid, Gary Kirsten or John Wright, who would remain aloof, letting the players hog the limelight.
Gambhir’s Ways Won’t Work
“The ‘Chappell Way’ doesn’t work in India. Gambhirs or Shastris, or Dravids will go, but players will stay,” he added. Having said that, there is no immediate danger to Gautam Gambhir’s Team India job, with a few high-profile assignments in sight. First up will be the Champions Trophy, that is slated to being on Feb 19.
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The head coach has also been keen on the senior pros like Virat and Rohit Sharma play the Ranji Trophy, as per other reports. And for now, the former has also been named in Delhi’s provisional 38-member squad for the next round of matches. Whether he ends up playing, is a different matter. Also, Rohit Sharma practiced with the Mumbai Ranji team on Tuesday.