Rohit, Gambhir not on same page with team selection, approach and choice of pitches; Indian cricket bearing the brunt

[rollingstoned]

Rohit, Gambhir not on same page with team selection, approach and choice of pitches; Indian cricket bearing the brunt

 

India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir have differed on too many important things in recent times and the results are for everyone to see.

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir (L) and captain Rohit Sharma(AFP)

 

The front wheels of India cricket, captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir are pointing in different directions at the moment. Whether it is the cause of India's recent humiliating 0-3 defeat at home to New Zealand or its effect is debatable. But the coach and captain are not always on the same page. The start of the Rohit-Gambhir era hasn't been smooth by any means and as it so happens in Indian cricket, if the results don't go your way, every molehill becomes a mountain. Not that India's abysmal batting against New Zealand can be passed as a molehill, but the dressing room equations will now get equal prominence as on-field performances if not more.

 

After the short-lived partnership between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble, which was described as 'untenable' by the legendary leg-spinner at the time of his resignation, Indian cricket has seen great camaraderie between its captain and head coach. Kohli and Ravi Shastri were a match made in heaven; aggressive, in-your-face. They believed in tit for tat and fighting fire with fire and were one of the main reasons behind India's rise as a nation which produces world-beating fast bowlers.

 

 

After both of them resigned, the Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid combination came into play. They were anything like Kohli and Shastri, but they knew how to win and were always in sync, whether it was picking the team, backing certain players, or opting for pitches in home conditions. The depth of their bond could be gauged by Rohit's Instagram post, where he described Dravid as his "work wife" after winning the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

Rohit-Gambhir differing over too many things

However, Rohit and Gambhir can not be said to be the same. They haven't been able to reach common ground on many things in the first three series, out of which India have lost two - the Sri Lanka ODIs and the whitewash at home against New Zealand.

 

A poor start to the Australia series will shut the doors on India’s WTC final hopes. That’s another reality waiting to hit hard. Whether BCCI makes a review of the home losses public like they did with the 2022 T20 World Cup stocktaking, differing voices on strategy from Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir may necessitate an early appraisal.

Behind the scenes, Gambhir hasn’t been a spectator since taking over from Rahul Dravid. Pacer Harshit Rana’s choice for the Australia tour had his stamp, one understands. Also Nitish Kumar Reddy replacing Shardul Thakur, someone who has been a constant in overseas Tests for playing eleven balance.

Besides, Gambhir’s public messaging to “play Test cricket like Test cricket should be played” and “improve defensive play” have been at odds with Rohit’s ultra-aggressive methods, in thought and action. There are also clear indications that Rohit and Gambhir want different pitches for home Tests. The previous management under Dravid had done away with rank turners after realising that substandard pitches bring the overseas spinners into the game but Gambhir has gone back to asking for pitches that turn viciously from Day 1.

Rohit's public statements on Gambhir and his support staff had a message. “They have been good. They have just come in. They are also understanding how this team operates, and how the players operate,” he said. “It’s important for the players to make sure that the thought process of the coaching staff aligns with theirs and take it forward. It’s been only four or five months now, too early to judge anything.”

They won’t have the privilege of making those choices in Australia. If spicy decks are dished out to them, India will have only a little over a fortnight to prepare.

[sensible-indian]

Pdogg destroyed Gambo in twitter.

 

Go and watch it in twitter.

 

He brought up strong points that just cant be refuted.

 

Gambo got this job cos KKR won IPL.

 

But who was KKRs coach?

 

Chandrakanth Patil.

 

He won with many domestic smaller teams prior to getting the job.

 

Was Gambo the mentor for all thsoe teams?

 

He said Gambo and his team wasnt bad per se..

But the question is 

 

Are they the right fit for us right now?

 

And what process was followed to pick him as coach?

 

 

Edited November 6, 2024 by sensible-indian

[Zero_Unit]

Who could have predicted that Gambir being elected as the head coach would have caused background drama? shocker ...

[tweaker]

Gambhir ' s days are numbered.

[Lone Wolf]

20 minutes ago, tweaker said:

Gambhir ' s days are numbered.

BGT or CT could be last l

[express bowling]

I think there is a 1 year contract atleast.

[Bigg Brother]

GG had one job to do- win atleast home series and SL series. The guy screwed up both. Overseas series loss wouldn't have impacted him as much as the seniors but looks like his coaching stint will be short just like his political career. 

[singhvivek141]

4 hours ago, express bowling said:

I think there is a 1 year contract atleast.

I think he has contract till 2027 WC

[Frustrated]

Top order batting collapses were quite frequent during Dravid's tenure as well. Only thing that used to save us often was the lower order' contribution.

Unfortunately, nothing was done to address the issue at top order. 

 

Now that the lower order has stopped contributing, the situation looks more dire.  This was bound to happen one day.

 

Not defending Gambhir here.  Just saying that he has inherited the same team. 

 

Edited November 6, 2024 by Frustrated

[Frustrated]

Rohit's average of 44 in the 5 match home test series vs Eng earlier this year is highly misleading and inflated due to one big knock of 140 something & one more fifty.  

He had a string of low scores (<20) in most innings of the series.  Just because we won 4-1, the issue was brushed under the carpet. 

It was again the same old story of lower order bailing us out.   Mostly the recovery was led by Axar & Jurel.   One odd match Gill also stayed till the end. 

[Number]

2 minutes ago, Frustrated said:

Rohit's average of 44 in the 5 match home test series vs Eng earlier this year is highly misleading and inflated due to one big knock of 140 something & one more fifty.  

He had a string of low scores (<20) in most innings of the series.  Just because we won 4-1, the issue was brushed under the carpet. 

It was again the same old story of lower order bailing us out.   Mostly the recovery was led by Axar & Jurel.   One odd match Gill also stayed till the end. 

4th test in Ranchi we were sureshot losing. We were trailing by 200 runs with 7 wickets down. Jurel and Kuldeep got us close to England's first innings score.

[Lord]

14 minutes ago, Frustrated said:

Rohit's average of 44 in the 5 match home test series vs Eng earlier this year is highly misleading and inflated due to one big knock of 140 something & one more fifty.  

He had a string of low scores (<20) in most innings of the series.  Just because we won 4-1, the issue was brushed under the carpet. 

It was again the same old story of lower order bailing us out.   Mostly the recovery was led by Axar & Jurel.   One odd match Gill also stayed till the end. 

 

Both dropped by kaptaan Fatso

[Serpico]

Looks like blame games have started using PR. Rohit on record said that he was happy with the rank turners in last yrs BGT. He literally asked for a rank turner in world cup final and ate sh#t. But now we're supposed to believe that turners in this series are Gambhir's idea? 

[Ultimate_Game]

The only way for Gambhir to showcase his coaching skills is if you kick out Rohit and Kohli the way we've done n T20s. If you keep them around, Gambhir has no authority, and no real freedom to do anything as Rohit & Kohli are beyond control of any coach.

 

This is the continuation of Kohli-Kumble saga. Hopefully BCCI does the right thing this time and kick out Rohit and Kohli instead of making a coach the scapegoat without giving him a fair chance.

[Lord]

38 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

The only way for Gambhir to showcase his coaching skills is if you kick out Rohit and Kohli the way we've done n T20s. If you keep them around, Gambhir has no authority, and no real freedom to do anything as Rohit & Kohli are beyond control of any coach.

 

This is the continuation of Kohli-Kumble saga. Hopefully BCCI does the right thing this time and kick out Rohit and Kohli instead of making a coach the scapegoat without giving him a fair chance.

 

They themselves left in T20. Else we'd be poor there too. 

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, Lord said:

 

They themselves left in T20. Else we'd be poor there too. 

 

That proves the problem lies with the seniors and not the coach. Give Gambhir a team where he can actually make the changes he wants to. Currently he can't when Rohit and Kohli are way more influential than the coach.

[express bowling]

6 hours ago, singhvivek141 said:

I think he has contract till 2027 WC

 

You are right. I checked it too.

 

Give him a young captain / young in terms of matches captain and they will gel better like with SKY. 

[bowl_out]

14 minutes ago, express bowling said:

 

You are right. I checked it too.

 

Give him a young captain / young in terms of matches captain and they will gel better like with SKY. 

 

Three formats three captains is the way to go.

 

T20 - SKY

Tests - Pant/Bumrah

ODI - The only questionable format. Maybe Shreyas? or Jasiwal

 

[Frustrated]

5 hours ago, bowl_out said:

 

Three formats three captains is the way to go.

 

T20 - SKY

Tests - Pant/Bumrah

ODI - The only questionable format. Maybe Shreyas? or Jasiwal

 

 

Next ODI WC is in SA.  Iyer won't be lasting more than 10 balls against any top side. 

 

In the 3 match ODI series against SL earlier this year, Iyer averaged 10.  He can play neither spin nor pace/bounce/short balls.   Only flat pattas are where he can thrive somewhat. 

Going forward, I don't see him retaining his spot in ODI (or any format).

[Majestic]

So Rohit changed Dravid’s gender and called him his wife? 
 

Gambhir though doesn’t want to be his wife, he wants to be the husband in their relationship?

Edited November 7, 2024 by Majestic