While India’s white-ball side has been performing exceptionally well under head coach Gautam Gambhir, producing trophies and strong win-loss records, that success has not translated to the traditional format.
With Gambhir at the helm, India have won seven, lost 10 and drew two of their 19 Tests so far, which includes a couple of clean sweeps against New Zealand (0-3) and South Africa (0-2) at home.
The team also conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 in Australia. The only Test series wins under Gambhir's tenure have come against Bangladesh and the West Indies at home.
After the recent home Test debacle against South Africa, calls for Gambhir’s sacking have grown louder, with fans and experts criticizing his team selection and strategy.
Recently, veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle offered an important advice to the Indian head coach, who is seen as someone who wants to be in full control of the team.
"I hope Gautam Gambhir does not see himself as the CEO. He has to see himself as the consultant. The CEO is the captain. I hope he does not see himself as 'I am running this team.' Ok, you (speaking to Shaun Pollock) have been the captain and now you are going to be coach, who runs the team?" Bhogle said on Cricbuzz.
"That has to be the captain," Pollock said.
"In T20, is that blurring a little?" Bhogle asked.
"I think it is. I think it's blurring more in franchise cricket, because guys play so many franchise games and come from different parts of the world. Sometimes they drop in two days before the game. That means the leadership is thrown at the coaches. In national teams you get a longer period of time. As captain you have to guard that. I mean you can help him with as many ideas, try and build his confidence. But at the end of the day, when he is out there, he has to make those calls," Pollock explained.
"Who is changing the batting order, when the captain is still in the dugout?" Bhogle asked.
"If the captain is involved, it should come from him," Pollock replied.
During the recently held ODI series against South Africa, Gautam Gambhir backed his philosophy of deploying a flexible batting order in white-ball cricket.
Top-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was forced to bat at No. 4, while all-rounder Washington Sundar was consistently floated in the lineup.
“I think in a one-day format, you should know the template that you want to play with. I've always believed that in white-ball cricket, batting orders are very overrated, except for the opening combination. In Test cricket, obviously, you've got to have a fixed batting order, but it (batting order) is very, very overrated (in white-ball formats),” Gambhir had said in the post-match presser after third ODI in Vizag.
He cited the example of Sundar to bolster his argument. “See, you're talking about someone who's got 100 at Manchester, a 50 at Oval, and who averages, what, 40-plus in Tests. Sometimes, you've got to look at balance as well. I know it's tough on someone like Washi, but then I think he's done an incredible job, batting at No. 3, No. 5, and No. 8.
“That's the kind of character he is, and that's the kind of character we want in that dressing room, who is willing to do everything for the team with a smile on his face, which I, as a batter, know how tough it is. I'm sure he's going to continue doing that, and we're going to keep developing him because he's got a massive future ahead for Indian cricket,” Gambhir remarked.
