Gautam Gambhir Blames Virat Kohli For Changing Team Against New Zealand, Says MS Dhoni Can Never Do That

Former Indian player Gautam Gambhir targeted Indian skipper Virat Kohli for changing the team against New Zealand. India suffered back-to-back losses against  Pakistan and New Zealand in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup.

Against New Zealand, Ishan Kishan came in place of Suryakumar Yadav after the latter suffered a back-spasm. The surprising element was that Ishan opened the innings with KL Rahul, and the southpaw departed for four runs.

Virat Kohli has never impressed me as a strategist: Gautam Gambhir

Rohit Sharma, who was demoted to No.3, could only score 14 before getting out for a big shot.

Gambhir said that he was never impressed with Kohli’s strategies and said nobody in the team management questions his decisions.

Gambhir also said that his former captain MS Dhoni, who is team’s mentor for the showpiece event, had no involvement in those changes.

“Kohli has never impressed me as a strategist. Once again, he was a disappointment on Sunday. For starters, why did he change the team from the one that played against Pakistan? If that was not enough, he also changed the batting order and had Ishan Kishan open in place of Rohit,” Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.

“I have played long enough with MS Dhoni to know that he would have nothing to do with these knee-jerk changes just after one game. And what I also understand is that the other support staff hardly challenge Kohli’s calls,” he wrote further.

India made Ish Sodhi & co look good: Gautam Gambhir

New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi bowled brilliantly and got the wickets of Rohit and Kohli to stop the flow of runs in the middle overs.

Gambhir said it was India’s lack of planning that made New Zealand spinners look good.

“But the question is whether Sodhi and other New Zealanders bowled well or India batted below par. I am the first one to acknowledge opposition’s supremacy, but after seeing Kohli and his men play the way they did on Sunday, I’d say they made Sodhi and Co. looked better than they were,” Gambhir mentioned.

“From a distance, it seemed there was no clear planning, role allocation and proper assessment of the conditions. Clearly, they were searching for a mountain of a score. However, a lack of understanding of the pitch meant they were in pursuit of a score around 170-180. As a result, Indian batsmen kept hitting in the air like millionaires and folded for 110,” he added.

India will play against Afghanistan on Wednesday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: They Are Exceptionally Dangerous Because They Are A Team That’s Unafraid – Sunil Gavaskar On Afghanistan