File image of Abhishek Nayar and Gautam Gambhir.© AFP
Team India’s performance under Gautam Gambhir hasn’t gone as planned. In just over six months at the helm, Gambhir has already seen his side get whitewashed 0-3 at home by New Zealand, and then lose the chance to win the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. This has reportedly put Gambhir and his support staff under the scanner from BCCI, with him set to be questioned for those appointments. The report also suggests that Gambhir’s communication with some players is not optimum.
As per a report by The Times of India, Gambhir’s performance will be reviewed by the BCCI after the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. One big point of discussion is set to be the value added by his support staff.
Reportedly, the presence of Abhishek Nayar as a batting-cum-assistant coach and Ryan ten Doeschate as a fielding coach will be the ones questioned and reviewed, along with the general performance of the team under Gambhir.
It is important to remember that Gambhir hand-picked his support staff after being appointed as head coach, with Nayar and ten Doeschate following him on from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the Indian team.
However, when confirming their appointments, Gambhir had also stated that they’re both being appointed as “assistant” coaches and not specifically as a batting or fielding coach.
One particular point of frustration has been the consistent struggles for senior batters, with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli constantly falling due to similar technical problems. The fact that this hasn’t been sorted yet is expected to be monitored.
On the other hand, the report also states that Gambhir’s communication with younger players who don’t make the XI has been missing. Gambhir has reportedly been “minimal and very objective” in his communication to the players during the Australia tour.
This has reportedly turned out to be an issue, with players accustomed to more empathetic communication from the Rahul Dravid-era.
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