India have been having a torrid time in Tests recently, with a rare home series whitewash against New Zealand, and now trailing 1-2 against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
The visitors lost the fourth Test by 184 runs at the MCG, with the Indian batters once again failing to rise to the occasion. Playing for a draw on day 5, India lost the last seven wickets for 34 runs—with some batters falling to loose shots—drawing criticism from former cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, and fans alike.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Gambhir gave the players a piece of his mind in the dressing room after the defeat. Saying that he have had enough, he slammed some players for continuing to play their “natural game” without considering the match situation. The jibe is believed to be aimed at senior pros like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. None of them have accumulated even 200 runs in the four Tests so far, and have repeatedly fallen to irrational shots.
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Gambhir, who took over as coach in July, reportedly told the players that he had given them the freedom to play in the first six months, but will now dictate play. The TIE report said that Gambhir also fired a veiled warning that the players who continue to defy his instructions would be dropped.
Gambhir wanted Pujara for Australia series
Gambhir, the report said, wanted veteran Cheteshwar Pujara in the team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, but the selectors turned down his request. Proven Test specialists like Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been out of favour with the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar.
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The 36-year-old, who last played for India in the 2023 World Test Championship final, has scored 993 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 47.28 in Australia.
Interestingly, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood had said that he was happy that Pujara was not in the squad, ahead of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
'Gambhir as coach was a compromise'
Communication, it is learnt, has been a major casualty in Gambhir's tenure. A PTI report said that skipper Rohit Sharma, who is known to talk to players personally, has not been clarifying to players the reason for their exclusion from the playing XI, since Gambhir took charge.
The head coach and the players are yet to be on the same page, the report added. There is speculation already that if India lose the final Test at Sydney and if their performance in the Champions Trophy is not satisfactory, tough questions will be asked of Gambhir.
PTI quoted a senior BCCI official as saying that Gambhir was never the BCCI's first choice as the head coach. Since the other foreign candidates were not willing to coach in all three formats, and because there were “other compulsions”, Gambhir was appointed as a “compromise”.
Time, and results, will tell if the BCCI would be forced to take a tough call and, perhaps, appoint a different coach for the longer format.
