Gambhir and assistant coaches as culpable as Indian cricketers for Melbourne defeat

It was not the best way to welcome the New Year but, on Wednesday, there was no escaping the latest episode in Indian cricket squad’s rollercoaster run in Australia. Media, traditional and social,  were abuzz with conversations on the team leadership grappling with the batters not buying in in to the tactical ploys scripted by the head coach.

The drab approach of the batting unit on the final day of the Boxing Day Test may not be enough evidence but playing for a draw was fraught with danger. Australia applied  relentless pressure and engineered a surrender in the final session. There will always be attempts to point fingers at some players, more than others, as not embracing the strategy laid down by the team leadership.

However, considering that opening bat and skipper Rohit Sharma made 9 off 40 deliveries in an hour and a quarter’s stay and his partner Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed 12 runs (57 balls) in a 25-run stand at a run and a half per over pace, the team’s tactics were obvious – play the day out and head to Sydney with the series tied at 1-1.

It seemed as if the team had decided that chasing 340 in 92 overs on a final day track in Melbourne was not an option. However, batting out that many overs to carve out a draw called for great levels of concentration and commitment, especially since the team had batted more than 90 overs only in 10 of the 28 Test innings in 2024. 

With such a record and with the second new ball available to the home team at the tail end of the day, India was only adding to the challenges presented by Australia. Skipper Pat Cummins was able to maneuver the field to his advantage rather than have to think of stopping the flow of runs at any point of time. 

So if shutters-down was the leadership’s chosen strategy, the batters who fell in playing aggressive shots can be deemed to have gone against the tactics. This list includes Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal who followed skipper Rohit Sharma to the hut, perishing when looking to wear an attacking countenance. Of the specialists, only KL Rahul fell to a less attacking shot.

Of course, the players are the most accountable, but head coach Gautam Gambhir and his assistants cannot escape scrutiny. Their role is mainly in the sphere of preparation, aiding the players to be in the best physical and mental space before doing battle. On the basis of the showing in the last three Tests, it can be said that India has been caught in a web of confusion.

Any suggestion that the head coach had allowed the team to do what it wanted for six months and would now call the shots only now must be taken with a pinch of salt. He drew his strength from the powers-that-be in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, landing the job despite having no experience of coaching a team. To think that he let the team do what it wanted so far belies logic.

Be that as it may, it is not the first time in Indian cricket that the captain’s position may be eyed by aspirants, sensing the weakening hold of the incumbent. Many will recall the time in 1992-93 when India returned from South Africa and was set to take on England at home. In fact, the selectors had put Mohammed Azharuddin on notice, naming him captain for two ODIs and one Test.

Fans will recall the musical chairs that many selection committees orchestrated around captaincy. In the 80s, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev were the prominent leaders while Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar featured in the 90s when selectors went back and forth on leadership roles. Since then, nobody has been recalled to captaincy, even as a short term measure.

One of the banes of Indian cricket – and few are prepared to identify and address the elephant in the room – has been the influence of player agents and, more recently, public relations companies. With a former player also dropping a not-so-veiled hint at cricketers ‘owning’ fan clubs, the Board of Control for Cricket in India must no longer pretend that all is well in Paradise.

The Board must not waste time to try to identify the source of the leak/plant. Instead, the mandarins must step in to ensure that things do not get out of hand even more than they seem to be at the moment. The lads can argue, throw their weight be petulant all they want to, but only so long as such behaviour does not hurt the Indian cricket team’s performances on the field. 

Indeed, someone in the corridors of power has to read the riot act to the touring party. Soon.