India head coach Gautam Gambhir is under immense pressure after unprecedented whitewashes against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in less than just under three months after the start of his tenure. A defeat against the Kiwis at Wankhede marked a 3-0 defeat for the Men in Blue, a first whitewash India faced on their home soil since they started playing cricket.
Notably, Gambhir took over the top role from Rahul Dravid after the Men in Blue won the T20 World Cup in West Indies. Gambhir came into limelight in the early days of his tenure as he brought with him a number of coaching staff members who have previously worked with him including bowling coach Morne Morkel (LSG), and assistant coaches Ryan Ten Doeschates and Abhishek Nayar (both from KKR).
However, despite getting his pick of the coaching staff and access from BCCI that his predecessors, Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid were not given, Gambhir hasn't managed to deliver the desired results. For instance, Gambhir was given a free reign in selection matters and was also made part of the selection committee meeting for Australia tour, a report by news agency PTI stated.
Reportedly, Gambhir also got his 2 picks for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, including pacer Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Both the players made their debut for India in the T20 format last month and made an impact on the India head coach.
Gautam Gambhir will be BCCI's scrutiny as the Men in Blue depart for the tour of Australia on November 10. The Indian coach might also have to show the way to some senior Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The PTI report states that the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy will be ‘acid test’ for the Indian head coach as India need to win at least 4 matches in order to qualify for the World Test Championship final.
