Gautam Gambhir’s reliance on all-rounders across formats has long drawn criticism, but the chatter peaked after India’s humiliating 0–2 Test whitewash at home against South Africa last month. It was their second home series defeat in 12 months, leaving Gambhir facing relentless scrutiny as critics showed no mercy, branding his approach a sheer “obsession.”
However, Jacques Kallis, arguably the greatest all-rounder to have played the game, came to his defence, backing Gambhir’s ploy and stressing the value all-rounders bring to modern cricket.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times during a media interaction for the upcoming SA20 league in South Africa, Kallis explained that having multiple all-rounders not only gives a side perfect balance but also extends the batting order, allowing the team to adopt a fearless approach in the early and middle phases of the game.
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“Yes, 100 per cent. It just gives you a balance to your team. It makes you bat a lot deeper, and you know, it allows you, perhaps you do have a longer batting order with your all-rounders to go a little bit harder up front and in the middle. So it plays a big role in that, you know, as well as balancing it out. So I think in any format, all-rounders are really important. However, particularly in the shorter version of the game, it does play a significant role," he told the website.
{{/usCountry}}“Yes, 100 per cent. It just gives you a balance to your team. It makes you bat a lot deeper, and you know, it allows you, perhaps you do have a longer batting order with your all-rounders to go a little bit harder up front and in the middle. So it plays a big role in that, you know, as well as balancing it out. So I think in any format, all-rounders are really important. However, particularly in the shorter version of the game, it does play a significant role," he told the website.
{{/usCountry}}Former India captain Anil Kumble was among the many experts who criticised Gambhir for his muddled approach and over-reliance on all-rounders, arguing that India needs specialist players in both departments. "Test match cricket requires a different mindset, you can't really have so many all-rounders, so much chopping and changing, so many changes in the batting order, in the team itself," he had told JioStar after India lost by 408 runs in Guwahati last month against the reigning World Test champions.
Another former cricketer, Venkatesh Prasad, launched a scathing attack on Gambhir, calling his push for all-rounders a “brain-fade obsession.” His social media post read: “Really disappointed by how India is going about in Test cricket. The all-rounder obsession is absolute brain-fade especially when you don't bowl them. Rank Poor tactics, poor skills, poor body language and an unprecedented 2 series white wash at home.”
More than the defeat to South Africa, the criticism around Gambhir’s approach has centred around how India used Nitish Kumar Reddy, a player the head coach and the selectors have backed to the hilt. After the seam-bowling all-rounder's breakout IPL campaign for Sunrisers Hyderabad last year, Gambhir was convinced that the youngster was India’s next Hardik Pandya. Despite the Andhra cricketer's limited red-ball experience and reservations within the BCCI, he was pushed into the Test setup for the tour of Australia. Nitish did repay that faith with a century at the MCG last December, but his returns have dipped sharply since.
The Nitish Reddy debate
Across 10 Tests thus far, Nitish averages only 26 with the bat, with the lone hundred doing most of the heavy lifting. With the ball, he has delivered just 86 overs in 15 innings, fewer than six overs per innings. His recent usage has only strengthened the criticism. In the Ahmedabad Test against the West Indies last month, he bowled four wicketless overs in the first innings and wasn’t called upon again. Against South Africa, Nitish was flown in from Rajkot to Guwahati as cover for an injured Shubman Gill, yet he bowled only 10 overs in the entire match.
Washington Sundar's role
Washington Sundar is another name who’s embracing the term ‘floater’ in this team. Since replacing the retired Ravichandran Ashwin in India’s Test XI, Sundar has become Gambhir’s go-to allrounder. Sundar has batted No. 8, 6 and even No. 3, and while his wicket tally has only increased, runs have started to come with the bat too. In Kolkata, Sundar faced more balls than anyone else, and after Yashasvi Jaiswal, was the second-highest run-scorer for India.
Besides Tests, India field an all-rounder-heavy unit in ODIs and T20Is too, with Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Sundar and Hardik Pandya regularly featuring more often than not. In T20Is, sure, the more the merrier, but how long will Gambhir continue to invest in all-rounders more than specialists is a debate that isn’t simmering down anytime soon, more so given the fact that guys like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar continue to wait.