Mumbai: India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s first six months in the job have gone all wrong with India’s impregnable home Test record undone by New Zealand’s 3-0 clean sweep, followed by the loss (3-1) to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. In a review meeting with cricket board (BCCI) officials in a Mumbai hotel on Saturday, Gambhir is known to have agreed that an honest appraisal of the team’s shortcomings in Australia was necessary.
There will be no pressing of the panic button or decisions rushed, according to a source privy to the discussions. Also present in the meeting was skipper Rohit Sharma, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, BCCI secretary-elect Devajit Saikia and Jay Shah, previous secretary and now ICC chairman. Shah, having conducted the review after the loss to New Zealand, was present as a special invitee.
The future of senior batters Rohit and Virat Kohli did come up for discussion, but the board officials are learnt to have left it to the wisdom of the selection committee to take the team transition process forward as they deem fit.
That is not to say that Rohit’s “I am not going anywhere” statement is how things will ultimately transpire. The selectors are known to be worried about Rohit’s falling graph in Test cricket, but the understanding is that the captain will take a considered decision at the appropriate time.
With regards to the Champions Trophy, there were no discussions to look past Rohit, given that he led India to the ODI World Cup final in November 2023 and has given the innings brisk starts. Rohit later attended the facilitation function of Jay Shah by BCCI members.
‘Wait and watch’ on Kohli
There are concerns around Kohli’s form too, but a lot would depend on how the next line of Indian batters shape up in the months ahead. With the five-Test series against England still five months away, the selectors are likely to sit over the matter before forming an opinion. Shubman Gill hasn’t settled into the Kohli role as he was expected to; nowhere close to how ready Kohli was when Sachin Tendulkar hung up his boots. This is something that will be factored in by Agarkar’s selection committee.
Gambhir’s support staff
Another matter that came up for discussion was the depth of Gambhir’s support staff. Except bowling coach Morne Morkel, who comes with a body of work as a Test player, there is a growing opinion within the team set-up that assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are lacking in coaching expertise, particularly when it comes Test cricket. One understands more discussions will take place on the matter only after the Champions Trophy.
There is a possibility of more reinforcements in the coaching staff, those with technical expertise for the tour of England. Pundits like Sanjay Manjrekar have questioned the role of the batting coach and how no one was able to offer a remedy to Kohli’s persistent off-stump problems in Australia.
With the Indian team having started on the wrong foot in ODIs too – under Gambhir they lost 0-2 in Sri Lanka – the Champions Trophy holds significance in deciding who should drive the team forward. An adverse result in the marquee event from February 19 to March 9 may bring Gambhir’s role under scrutiny.
There wasn’t enough time, one learns, to go deep into issues such as a lack of sync between the selection committee and the team management. Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran were selected but were never considered in any of the five Tests in Australia. The team management’s constant search for their lead spinner, then the decision to pick two of them on a pace-friendly Sydney deck, also showed them in poor light.
