The barrage of questions surrounding Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir continues.
After the recent defeat in the Guwahati Test against South Africa, the team has slipped to fourth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
Gambhir delighted fans by winning the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup in limited-overs formats over the past year and a half, but things have turned upside down in Test cricket.
Three defeats at home, especially against teams like New Zealand and Australia, have raised questions about the coach’s strategy.
Home pitches are ruining Gambhir’s dream
Gambhir’s biggest mistake appears to be his pitch selection. The match against South Africa at Eden Gardens ended in just two days, and
Gambhir said, “This was exactly the pitch we wanted.”
But experts believe that these underprepared tracks are proving to be poison for Indian batsmen.
The team was whitewashed on similar pitches in the New Zealand series. Legends like Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Cheteshwar Pujara are loudly decrying that these pitches are harming India, not benefiting it.
Ashwin recently asked, “A traditional Indian turner is one where both the edges of the bat are challenged and there is preferably some bounce. Why aren’t we playing on such tracks?”
Former coach WV Raman told TOI, “When you provide the sort of pitch that was dished out at the Eden, you are bringing opposition spinners into play. India’s bowling attack has a lot more control, but on such pitches, the superior skill is almost negated.”
He believes that Indian spinners would benefit in long matches, and batsmen would be able to play comfortably.
Gambhir argues that such pitches would eliminate the toss factor, but in reality, in three of the home defeats, the team lost the toss and played the second innings.
Spinners like New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj are troubling Indian batsmen, who may not even find a place in the Ranji team.
Frequent changes in team selection, players confused
Now let’s talk about team selection. Gambhir, basking in his white-ball success, is implementing a ‘horses for courses’ policy in Tests as well, leading to a chopping and chopping in the playing XI.
Shubman Gill at No. 3, Devdutt Padikkal at No. KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Sai Sudharshan, and Washington Sundar all keep moving around. No one is able to settle down.
Gambhir’s personal coach, Raman, says, “It’s not always about skill, which all the players you’re mentioning have. It’s about temperament. A specialist in a particular area like that has the temperament to bat longer and concentrate harder.”
He suggests that if Washington is to be kept at number 3, give him time and don’t replace him in the next match. On a dangerous pitch like Aden, having six bowlers is useless; five bowlers and an extra batsman are enough.
Gambhir clarifies that the BCCI selected him because he delivers results. But the path to the WTC final has become difficult.
Two overseas tours of New Zealand and Sri Lanka remain, followed by five Tests against Australia at home in 2027.
The BCCI may be happy with the white-ball victory, but this Test crisis could prove costly for Gambhir.
