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By Aryan Dudani
Cricket is the one thing that unites our entire country, with all its different people, classes and age groups; from your local chai ki tapri to your fancy cafes, this is the one thing that will be talked about. It’s a phenomenon that can close Marine Drive and bring lakhs of people together. In fact, there is a popular saying that if you want to know about what's wrong in the game, don't ask the coaches, ask the common man instead and he will provide you with a detailed analysis. So, taking a page from the common man’s handbook for cricket, I decided to give my two paise about the current state of the cricket landscape.
Gautam Gambhir has been named as the head coach of team India. He will begin his tenure as coach with the Sri Lanka Tour. Gambhir mentored Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 and 2023, the team qualifying for playoffs both times; and Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024, leading them to becoming the champions. I am excited to see what Gambhir brings to the Indian team keeping in mind his IPL record. Honestly, I won't be surprised if we see Virat bowling and Siraj opening alongside Rohit (ifykyk). While we are on the subject, in the last T20 against Sri Lanka, surprisingly Surya and fan favorite Rinku Singh bowled 1 over and took 2 wickets each (the Gambhir effect is real).
Gambhir has had a ‘no-nonsense’ approach towards the game where he believes in teamwork - he said so in his first press conference as head coach, believing in giving players the freedom to play and keeping the dressing room a happy and secure place (so basically the opposite of what happened at RCB vs LSG in 2023). That being said, Axar Patel recently talked about how the manner of playing remains the same, but the overall mindset can shift under Gambhir's guidance. In totality, I am really interested to see what Gambhir's fighter and straight forward attitude brings to the table and how the dynamic with senior players in the team plays out.
Let's talk about captaincy: Rohit ‘hitman’ Sharma will captain India in ODIs, and Shubman Gill has been given the role of Vice-Captain. While there is no debate regarding Rohit, fans have voiced their opinions about Gill, as he was chosen over the likes of Rishab Pant and KL Rahul. What surprised me the most was that KL Rahul was not named the Vice-Captain in the ODI format has consistent stats in the format and has also captained in India's tour to South Africa, making him a strong and experienced option in absence of Hardik Pandya. While Gill might have some experience of captaincy in the t20 format, making him the Vice-Captain in ODI can be tricky, as he tends to make wrong decisions under pressure. In such a scenario, an experienced player like KL Rahul might have proven to be a better option.
Talking about everyone's favorite format, T20s: the news is surprising as Hardik Pandya has not been given any captaincy role and will continue as a player. The decision has been backed up by claims of workload management and personal reasons. Meanwhile, the new fan favorite Apala Surya dada has been given the chance to captain team India in its T20 games.
This is an interesting option as we have seen Surya grow as a player over the years. He is consistent in game and has also captained India a few times before. He captained India against Australia and won the series with joyful 4-1 result. Moreover, his mindset matches Gambhir’s in terms of game. Together the ‘Surya’ can shine and make other teams ‘Gambhir'. While I may not side with Gill being ODI vice-captain, I do think that he is a good choice for t20s as he did lead India to a series win against Zimbabwe with key players not playing. His experience and performance in this format do prove him to be a ‘Shubh’ option for the team.
Moving onto the team, one player that comes to my mind is Ruturaj Gaikwad: the man loved by fans but not by BCCI or selectors, as it seems. Robbed, is the word I hear in reference to Ruturaj Gaikwad not being selected. He has performed up to mark whenever he has been given the chance. His few matches against Zimbabwe proved his skill and potential and with his stats and figures, it is easy to argue for his caliber being almost equivalent to Jaiswal and Gill. While it is understandable that the positions in a team are limited, the question that arises as to why Gaikwad is being dropped and not the others.
Talking about entrants, Riyan Parag has been given a chance in both the formats. In recent matches, Parag did perform up to expectation. Despite his early dismissal, he did take 3 wickets for the team with low economy. One Suprise to me was Jadeja not being in ODI team as he is arguably one of the best all-rounders in the format. According to Ajit Agarkar, taking out Jadeja was a tough decision, but they are looking to use him in the upcoming test matches - which makes sense as new all-rounders coming in play gives Jadeja time off to focus on the upcoming matches. While some decisions felt poorly thought through, I believe many of these decisions were tough for BCCI and after all, at the end of the day, there are only so many players that can be selected.
While India did win in the t20 series by 3-0, it seems like the Gambhir-Rohit led ODI team didn't quite hit the mark with 2 loses and a tie that led Sri Lanka to a comfortable ODI series win.
The Indian cricket is going through some changes. With changed teams and a new coach at play, it is going to be interesting to see the new phase of team India and how will things look in the future. But one thing that certainly won't change is turning the TV on and chanting “India, India (clap x3)” whenever there is a match.
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