Gautam Gambhir’s future hangs by a tenuous thread; Virat Kohli’s form and commitment are the least of his concerns

To say that Gautam Gambhir’s future hangs by a tenuous thread after this setback will be an enormous exaggeration, but surely, even he must be feeling the heat

As a rule, ‘firsts’ are a reason to celebrate, a cause to rejoice. For parents, they could be the first steps, the first words, the first cuddle and the first hug from their kid. For the said kid, it’s the first cycle, the first smartphone (in the modern age), and as they grow up, the first love, the first job, the first pay cheque.

India have now lost two international series at home against New Zealand under Gautam Gambhir (PTI)

But not all firsts are joyous. Ask Gautam Gambhir.

In November 2024, the former India opener became the first Indian coach to oversee a home Test series loss against New Zealand. Along the way, he also courted the dubious history of being the first Indian coach to be at the receiving end of a 3-0 sweep on home turf. Just to put things in perspective, the Kiwis had lost ten of the preceding 12 series in India. To compound matters, it was India’s first defeat at home since December 2012.

Gautam Gambhir and the burden of unwanted firsts

Twelve months on from that debacle, Gautam Gambhir became the first Indian in a quarter of a century to surrender a home series to South Africa. His mounting woes came to a head on Sunday when New Zealand raced to a comfortable victory in the final One-Day International in Indore, marking the first time in eight showdowns in India that the hosts had come second best to the Kiwis.

While it is true that the coach doesn’t get on the field of play and that he can’t do a great deal when the players fail to live up to potential, that doesn’t mean he can’t be in the firing line. Gautam Gambhir himself left that door open in Guwahati last November when, after India slumped to a record 408-run loss to South Africa in the second Test, he was pointedly asked if he thought he was still the right man to coach the Test squad.

“I'm the same guy who got results in England, with a young team,” he had countered with characteristic feistiness. “A lot of people keep talking about New Zealand. I'm the same guy under whom we won the (50-over) Champions Trophy and the (T20) Asia Cup as well.” Credit where it is due, sure, but also criticism where it is merited, surely, Gautam?

It must be stressed that as disheartening as a home ODI series loss is, this one doesn’t really add up to a lot in tangible terms. Like all other teams, India have more than one eye on the T20 World Cup, beginning in less than three weeks. Towards that end and to ensure that they manage the protesting and fragile bodies of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, the decision-makers prudently rested the best fast bowler in the world and indisputably the best limited-overs all-rounder in the country, and omitted Axar Patel, rapidly emerging as one of the more vital cogs in India’s white-ball wheel.

Their absence understandably created a huge lacuna. To make things worse, India lost reserve stumper Rishabh Pant before a ball was bowled and Washington Sundar with an on-field injury after their stuttering victory in the first ODI in Vadodara.

Then again, they had their full-strength batting line-up to fall back on. A batting group that wasn’t short on game-time, given that everyone had played two 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy matches after the South Africa series in early December. It was a unit comprising Rohit Sharma and skipper Shubman Gill, the statuesque Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul – a top-five with class and pedigree and the sheer weight of numbers, followed by all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy (for the last two outings after Washington was ruled out).

Gautam Gambhir can’t be faulted if the batting group didn’t fire in unison. That happens sometimes, because that is the nature of the limited-overs beast, the cricketing beast. It’s not on him that Jadeja’s customary parsimony went AWOL or that Kuldeep Yadav’s wicket-taking skills spectacularly deserted him.

Not the losses alone, but the decisions that invited scrutiny

Where questions are being raised is with regard to decision-making around the bowling group. Such as, why was Arshdeep Singh overlooked for the first two outings when two fairly similar types of bowlers, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, got a look-in to complement the recalled Mohammed Siraj? After all, Arshdeep was in excellent wicket-taking form, provides a left-arm over angle and is a prodigious swinger of the new ball. So, why was he warming the bench till the decider?

And such as, why was Nitish grossly under-bowled in the second match in Rajkot (two overs) and batting at No. 7 if he was being groomed for the future (read, the 2027 World Cup)? What was the thinking behind Ayush Badoni being drafted in as Washington’s squad replacement?

To say that Gautam Gambhir’s future hangs by a tenuous thread after this latest setback will be an enormous exaggeration, but surely, even he must be feeling the heat now, unlike Virat Kohli, who had another wonderful series with scores of 93, 23 and 124. On Sunday, the former captain waged a lone top-order battle until he found support from No. 6 Nitish and No. 8 Rana, who both slammed maiden half-centuries. In a stiff chase of 338, Virat Kohli needed at least two others in the top five to fire, but once India were reduced to 71 for four, he had to cut out risks and still score briskly.

That he brought up his 54th century off just 91 deliveries, or took only eight deliveries to move through the 90s, was credit to him but not even Kohli, the acknowledged master at hunting down targets, could pull a rabbit out of the hat this time. That’s not on Virat Kohli. His one-time Delhi and India teammate is the least of the concerns for the beleaguered, bedraggled Gautam Gambhir.