Coach Gautam Gambhir loves publicity when the going is good!
Coach Gautam Gambhir chose to present himself before the media and not one of the three Test centurions who emerged heroes from the great escape at Old Trafford in Manchester two days ago. Indeed, the way skipper Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar came up with adrenaline-felted tons to ensure India did not lose the fourth Test in the series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is praiseworthy.
So, then, would it not have made a fit case for the skipper or the other century scorers to talk to the media can be argued. Just to jog the readers’ memory, Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as coach has been anything but smooth. If people say his words are a bit like sandpaper being used on rust, that’s not an exaggeration. At the same time, if Gambhir comes in for criticism from former stars like Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar, it is in order.
It’s over a year since Gambhir took over. He has sounded a bit like the high-school master who is curt with the wards. A coach only sits and watches yards beyond the boundary, so it would have been in order to let heroe(s) come and talk to the media. No, Gambir believes he should take credit when there is success. By the way, even forcing a draw is seen as success (pun- intended).
More on Gambhir, for him to speak minus clarity on the fast bowlers is weird. It is well-known, when England scored over 600 runs in their only innings at Old Trafford, workload management did come to the mind. For those who have been critical of Jasprit Bumrah, he did bowl 33 overs. To say it was not taxing as all the overs were not fired in one day makes for a poor statement. In fact, if one looks at the overall load shouldered, Mohd Siraj has been flogged hard. Now comes the issue of who is fit for the final Test, as in the bowlers. Here, too, Gambhir has been cheeky in saying all bowlers are fit. Of course, Arshdeep Singh has been a passenger on the tour like Sarfaraz Khan and Kuldeep Yadav.
So, does Bumrah play the final Test at The Oval or not, we will know soon. There is a gap between the fourth Test end on Sunday and the final Test starting on July 31. Ideally, Gambhir may want Bumrah’s services for the final Test, as his experience counts a lot. For those who say the Bumrah from the BGT Series and the current series is a different version need a reality check. Bumrah does not play for himself, he is a total team-man. If he has said he will play only three Tests out of five, that was acceptable to the BCCI and the selectors. The way a bowler like Akash Deep has not been able to handle his back, Gambhir needs to throw light on it. It’s preposterous a young bowler becomes unfit.
Another point, Bumrah will play only if he feels fit and wants to play one more Test than what he promised. The star fast bowler is not going to take orders from a coach like Gambir, whose man-management skills are poor. If anything, Bumrah owes nothing to anyone. His career has been chequered, across formats.
Gambhir also needed to tell the media why Team India needs a new wicket-keeper, after Rishabh Pant got injured. The Pant heroics of batting with a fractured toe is legendary. At present, it’s in a cast and he cannot put weight on it. Everyone knows, that is a blow-hot-blow-cold relation between Pant and Gambhir. Full credit to Pant, he never said a word, even when he was treated like dirt during the Champions Trophy. So, the PR exercise from Gambhir, that Pant serves as a legend in motivating the next generation was stating the obvious. Frankly speaking, Gambhir is not a coach like Ravi Shastri or Rahul Dravid. The abrasive talk is indeed in poor taste.
Last but not the least, did not Gambhir say before and during the Champions Trophy KL Rahul was a better wicket-keeper than Pant. If that be the case, why has Rahul not been asked to don the gloves. Cricket is cricket, be it white ball or red ball. Now, it is well-known, Dhruv Jurel as sub wicket-keeper has been sub-par. Here is wishing Team India good luck for the final Test. India need to win to level the series while England will be happy even with just a draw. Needless to mention, Gambhir is under watch from many eyes, fans as well as critics.
