'Gambhir, selectors should've prepared for Rohit, Kohli's exits. Suddenly, everyone has woken up': Kiran More slams BCCI
Kiran More wasn't too pleased with Gautam Gambhir and the selectors for their approach to the transition in India's Test team.
The BCCI will end weeks of speculations over Rohit Sharma's successor in Test cricket, as well as on potential new faces in the Indian Test team as the board announces the squad for the upcoming five-Test series against England. A month before the scheduled start of the series, the Indian cricket fans received twin jolts with Test retirements of Rohit and Virat Kohli, leaving the team with a massive void to fill not just in terms of runs, but also experience and leadership.
However, Kiran More, the former chairman of selectors, launched a scathing critique of the BCCI and head coach Gautam Gambhir, stating that they failed anticipate the inevitable Test exits of stalwarts Rohit and Kohli. More questioned the lack of a contingency plan despite both players enduring prolonged lean patches in the longest format.
Neither Rohit nor Kohli had been consistent contributors during the previous home season, with repeated struggles to convert starts into significant scores. Even in Australia, where Kohli opened the series with a century, his form quickly dipped, finishing with a modest tally of just 190 runs across 10 innings.
“First thing, I'm surprised. The whole selection committee and coach should've thought about this, that this (transition) was going to come,” More told Follow the Blues on JioHotstar.
“Now, suddenly, everybody has woken up and now they're asking who should be the next captain. They should've been prepared. I feel we haven't prepared for 1.5 years, this is a big wake up call for us.”
More also stated that he disagrees with Shubman Gill as the leading choice to succeed Rohit as India's new Test captain, stating that it would put unnecessary pressure on the youngster. Instead, More decided to side with Rahul, preferring experience over youth.
“For me, Shubman Gill is a great player. But I wouldn't like to put pressure on it. I would like to go with KL Rahul. Shubman hasn't done that well in Test cricket, I would want Gill to be captain of one-day format first,” said More further.
Gill likely to lead
While More expressed his support for Rahul, it looks increasingly likely that Gill will be named the new Test captain. The youngster is currently the vice-captain in ODIs, and also leads Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
Jasprit Bumrah was also among the debated names for captaincy according to reports; however, there are concerns over his availability in all five Tests, which rule him out for the role.
