Gautam Gambhir in the past has been one of India’s prolific run getters, opening the innings and forming a great partnership with his Delhi compatriot Virender Sehwag. However, over the last few years, he has been excluded from most Indian sides, and the last time he played for India was last year in a test against England. Although he looked in good touch in the IPL 2017, here are 5 reasons why the BCCI was right in not picking him for the Sri Lanka tour:
1. Lack of big game time
Gautam Gambhir has not been in the Indian squad for a long while now, and India went on to win a majority of the 14 tests that they played at home. He has not been a part of the Senior squad for a while now, and so may be a little rusty when it comes to the games on the big stage, while India are looking to cement themselves as Number 1 in all formats.
2. Shift in Dynamics
Having not been a part of the squad for a while now, Gautam Gambhir will be walking into a completely different dressing room from the one he remembers. This squad has been together for a while and have formed a strong group dynamic, which Gambhir would feel like an outsider to having just walked in.
3. Reliance on youth
The BCCI has started to build a team for the next 5 years rather than pick squads just to win particular matches or series. The squad is filled with Young blood, peppered with the experience of some long serving players, and the balance is looking perfect. Gautam Gambhir coming in to the team at the age of 35 would just not serve enough merit to upset the age balance this team has.
4. Tried and tested opening partnerships
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have had a fine opening partnership going on, with both making big scores multiple times over the last test season. Abhinav Mukund has been picked as the third opener after a good domestic season, and even Ajinkya Rahane has proven to be a good opener. This, Gautam Gambhir would find it hard to get a place in this squad.
5. Attitude towards the game
Gautam Gambhir, although very passionate, has been known to get very aggressive, and confrontational on the pitch. That is something that Virat Kohli is trying to leave behind him, as he looks to mature into a more calmer and cooler decision maker like his predecessor. The two know each other’s fiery sides very well, having gotten into a highly publicised and equally heated argument on the pitch during an IPL match between KKR and RCB.
By Aravind Harish
