After being ignored by the selection committee despite creditable performances in the Duleep Trophy, Gautam Gambhir returned to the India squad on Tuesday in place of KL Rahul for the remaining two Tests against New Zealand.
Rahul injured his right hamstring while running between the wickets in the first Test at Kanpur. Also called up was Haryana off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who will replace fast bowler Ishant Sharma --- down with chikungunya.
Gambhir considers Eden Gardens his second home, thanks to a successful stint with Kolkata Knight Riders that has seen him win two IPL titles. Since early in the morning, there were rumours that Gambhir might be called up as replacement for Rahul. In fact, Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh had appeared for a fitness test earlier in the day at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Both passed the test. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) however kept things under wraps till late in the night when it sent a mail that Gambhir and Yadav had been named as replacements for the next two Tests.
Gambhir returns to the India squad after two years, and four scratchy innings of 4, 18, 0 and 3 at Old Trafford and the Oval during the tour of England. The tour didn’t go well for most India batsmen, but Gambhir, on a comeback, was given a shorter rope than others. This was after he missed the entire 2013 season even though he was quite successful in the last series that he played against England in 2012.
{{/usCountry}}Gambhir returns to the India squad after two years, and four scratchy innings of 4, 18, 0 and 3 at Old Trafford and the Oval during the tour of England. The tour didn’t go well for most India batsmen, but Gambhir, on a comeback, was given a shorter rope than others. This was after he missed the entire 2013 season even though he was quite successful in the last series that he played against England in 2012.
{{/usCountry}}After the failed comeback, Gambhir focused on playing domestic cricket and IPL as India moved on with a new Test captain.
But his domestic performance, especially in the Duleep Trophy, was making it very difficult to ignore Gambhir before the series against New Zealand. He had scores of 77, 90, 59, 94 and 36 as captain of India Blue, the champions. What makes this selection interesting is the fact that India already have Shikhar Dhawan in the squad. With Rahul ruled out for the next two Tests, this should have been an easy case of handing back Dhawan what once was his --- the opening slot beside Murali Vijay.
If at all, Gambhir’s surprising but expected selection suggests his experience in India --- an average of 41.77 with five centuries and 11 fifties spread out over 55 innings --- makes him one of the most suitable candidates to handle a long home season ahead.