Conversation between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli©AFP
Not all is well in the Indian team’s dressing room at the moment. With Australia leading 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with just one Test remaining in Sydney, there is understandable frustration with the Indian team. Pressure is mounting on India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, under whom the team had some amazing results against Sri Lanka (ODIs) and New Zealand (Tests at home) and is now in Australia. He is on the brink of losing his right to play in the Tests. And that gives them a chance to qualify for the World Test Championship finals.
Gambhir was said to have “got his own way” during the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne and lost his cool against several of India’s top stars who ended up throwing away his wicket. There is. As a result, India lost the match and the team was in danger of being eliminated from the WTC final race.
“Bahut ho gaya (enough is enough),” Gambhir told the Indian team soon after the players returned to the dressing room after losing in Melbourne, according to the Indian Express.
India’s head coach is reportedly frustrated with the on-field behavior of some of his players. Gambhir is said to have told his players that he had given them six months to play “in their own way” but now everything has come to a standstill. From now on, those who do not play according to the plan he has set for the team will be given an ejection.
There is a huge contradiction within the team at the moment between what Gambhir decides to do as a ‘strategy’ for a particular situation or match, and what the players do on the pitch.
In the Melbourne Test, Rishabh Pant’s reckless shot that led to his dismissal was cited as the turning point in the match. Even Virat Kohli gave the ball to the fielder’s hands at slip while chasing a stump throw again for the eighth time in this series.
Captain Rohit Sharma had a cautious start till the second innings, but once again his instincts got the best of him and he was unable to turn his start into a big score. These actions by the Indian players have gotten on Gambhir’s nerves and the head coach is now reportedly ready to take serious action.
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