STILL reeling under the heartbreaking Test series loss in Australia, the Indian team is getting ready for white-ball cricket with the ICC Champions Trophy round the corner. All focus has now shifted to team selection with a question-mark hanging over Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Many players have thrown their weight behind Jasprit Bumrah to lead the side in all formats with the idea of utilising Rohit as a specialist opener. If it happens, it will be a sound move though the selectors are least likely to make a change with such haste. Amid the spotlight on selection, at one corner of the dressing room head coach Gautam Gambhir, too, is facing some heat with theories of rift in team floating around. It will be interesting to see if Gambhir also has his say in the proposed transition in leadership or he himself is preparing for a hot interrogation about his style of functioning. Since taking over as head coach from Rahul Dravid in July 2023, Gambhir has had an ordinary run with the team.

 

Suffering a setback in the One-Day International series in Sri Lanka, Gambhir tasted immediate success in the Twenty20 games with Suryakumar Yadav at helm. However, his stint with the Test team under Rohit Sharma has been horrendous to say the least. In Gambhir’s era, India have lost 0-3 at home against New Zealand, a first Test series loss in twelve years and 1-3 against Australia, losing the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. The Champions Trophy and the issues surrounding its hosting now make the tournament a prestigious affair for India and it would add extra pressure on the team as well as Gambhir. The coach also has a point to prove along with the team. Already, there are speculations that the senior cricketers are not happy with Gambhir’s style of working. His coaching style has been compared to Greg Chappell, who had a tumultuous stint with the Indian team with seniors like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly openly criticising the Australian’s attitude.

 

It is difficult to believe that the same story is being repeated in the current Indian dressing room but there is also truth in the talk that Gambhir has a stern way of dealing with situations and players. Being a feisty fighter during his playing days who made the most of his given abilities, Gambhir could be termed as an unsung hero of India’s 2011 World Cup victory. He comes out as a straightforward person who likes to tell the truth to a players on his face. Former opener Robin Uthappa has vouched for Gambhir’s integrity and hailed his straightforward nature. But as things go in Indian cricket the VIP culture is still not out of the dressing room and that might be causing friction between Gambhir’s style and some players’ perceptions. The back-to-back series losses must have added to the tensions and it would be prudent on part of the BCCI bosses to smoothen out things before the Champions Trophy.