Gautam Gambhir creating insecurity in Indian Team? Legendary pacer drops bombshell
Published - 11 Feb 2025, 02:05 PM | Updated - 11 Feb 2025, 02:06 PM
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Zaheer Khan has raised alarms over the India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir’s "overly flexible approach" to the white-ball squads, fearing that this tactic could lead to insecurity among the national players.
Zaheer Khan admitted that flexibility is important, but it should come with clear and defined rules to maintain stability along with proper communication.
Zaheer Khan raises concerns over Gautam Gambhir’s overly flexible approach with India’s white-ball squads
The former Indian pacer has also pointed out that constant chopping and changing within the squad could leave players uncertain about their roles, which would ultimately affect their confidence and performance and eventually the outcome for the India National Cricket Team.
Zaheer further went on to warn that the “excessively flexible approach” will eventually backfire on both the India National Cricket Team and coach Gautam Gambhir.
He advised his former teammate Gautam Gambhir and the team management to provide security to the players and ensure they are settled into their roles; otherwise, they must be ready to deal with that unwanted situation.
It will come back and hurt you: Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz, “You’ve said that you’ve got to have flexibility. Numbers one and two will be there, but the others are going to be flexible. Within that flexibility, some rules also apply. There are certain protocols you have to follow.
Certain communication needs to happen, which is going to streamline things. Otherwise, you are creating insecurity, which at some stage will come back and hurt you. You don’t want it to be the case. So, you’ve got to be prepared to deal with that situation.”
Gautam Gambhir's India make several changes in the batting order against England
Zaheer's comments came in the wake of the constant changes in batting positions during India’s ongoing white-ball series against England at home. Suryakumar Yadav batted at No. 3 in the first and third T20Is, while Tilak Varma took that spot in the rest of the games. Only the opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma remained fixed in T20Is.
In the ongoing three-match ODI series, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened with Rohit Sharma in the first ODI instead of Shubman Gill, which was initially thought to be due to Virat Kohli's injury. However, Shreyas Iyer later confirmed that it was not part of the original XI in Nagpur.
This raised questions about India’s batting positions, including whether Gill might bat at No. 4 in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Additionally, Axar Patel batted ahead of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya at No. 5 in both ODIs against England in Nagpur and Cuttack.
Zaheer Khan calls for a streamlined system for Team India
Meanwhile, the former World Cup winner emphasized the need for a streamlined system to ensure the Indian cricket team functions smoothly. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowling coach also highlighted that the approaches of Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir are different, but adaptation and working together are the key to success.
Zaheer signed off by saying, “That’s why I said recency bias is something very strong right now. The situation has become dynamic if you have to compare Rahul Dravid’s approach and Gautam Gambhir’s approach.
"You can say it’s good, bad, or ugly, or you can say, How do we adapt? Each individual is a part of this system, be it the senior management or the think tank, be it the players, or be it the selectors. They will have to gauge it, and the entire system needs to be streamlined for the wheel to turn properly.”
