‘Kapil, Kallis, Botham were OGs. Name one player from our team who can be called an all-rounder’: Gautam Gambhir grilled

Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary questioned Gautam Gambhir's tactics of sticking to an all-rounder-heavy team.

With yet another Test series defeat, let alone on home soil, Gautam Gambhir has become the public enemy number one. They have given their verdict: ‘Sack Gambhir’, but things don’t happen that easily in Indian cricket. Despite leaving it up to the BCCI to decide his future, and subsequently the board’s call to spare him, Gambhir continues to find himself in hot water. Almost every former Indian cricketer has had his say on Gambhir, the downfall Indian cricket experienced under him, and debated whether he is the right man for the job, at least in Test cricket.

No respite for Gautam Gambhir (PTI)

Of the many factors for which Gambhir has faced criticism, his rigidity in not playing specialist cricketers and loading the team with all-rounders remains the most contentious reason. Ever since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, which India went on to lose 1-3, Gambhir has shown immense faith in having more all-rounders in the Playing XI rather than investing in specialists. This has led to the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Devdutt Padikkal often being benched. Besides, Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair have been shown the door.

Another notable controversy under the regime of Gambhir and the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, has been the situation surrounding veteran pacer Mohammed Shami and his continued exile despite performing well in the Ranji Trophy. Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has hit out at Gambhir and questioned all of these aforementioned aspects. He believes Gambhir’s obsession with fielding more all-rounders would have worked only if the players at his disposal were genuine world-beaters. With Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar forming the core of that approach, Tiwary argues that Gambhir’s plan was always destined to backfire.

Why don't deserving players get the chance? asks Tiwary

"Deserving players have not been making it to the squad despite scoring tons of runs. For example, Sarfaraz Khan is a master of sub-continent conditions. He could have made a big difference in these conditions. Then Karun Nair, giving him just one series in England. Those players who have performed in domestic conditions would have made a big impact rather than the non-specialists. I also need to ask them why Mohammed Shami wasn't picked? Just imagine Shami bowling to Marco Jansen and Muthusamy, the partnership which broke the backbone in the second Test. He would have made the difference," Tiwary told The Hindustan Times

"The real OG all-rounders were Kapil Dev, Jacques Kallis and Ian Botham. Those were the cricketers who were the real all-rounders, who could win the match with both bat and ball. Name one player from our team who is being called an all-rounder, and who could potentially win the match single-handedly with either batting or bowling. None of them. We need specialists in Test cricket. There are many players in domestic cricket, and they know how to adapt to the situation and occupy the crease. If those players are not there and if you have white-ball players, then the results will always be negative. I think this mindset is not the right strategy to go about, and everything needs to be reviewed," he added.