With Suryakumar's elevation, new coach Gambhir stamps authority as Team India takes new direction

As a batter, Gautam Gambhir wasn’t exactly an explosive opener who would go slam-bang from ball one. That responsibility would largely lie with fellow Delhiite Virender Sehwag, with whom he formed a successful pairing at the top of the batting order for India as well as for the Delhi Capitals (formerly Daredevils).

In his maiden stint as the coach of a senior team, however, Gambhir has hit the first ball out of the park for a monstrous six. His tenure as coach of the Indian men’s cricket team is yet to officially begin, with the first of six white-ball fixtures in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka set to begin in eight days’ time.

The ‘GG Era’ however, has well and truly begun, and by the looks of it, we’re in for quite the ride.

SKY pips Pandya to T20I leadership

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All-rounder Hardik Pandya’s place in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup wasn’t set in stone after he had a below-par IPL, as a player as well as captain of the Mumbai Indians.

However, once he was picked as skipper Rohit Sharma’s deputy and also starred in India’s victorious campaign with important contributions with the bat as well as with the ball, it was almost a certainty that he would be returning to the post of T20I captaincy once Rohit was done with the shortest format.

Rohit retired from T20Is after India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup, with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja joining him in walking into the sunset. Pandya’s elevation to captaincy appeared to be a simple formality at that point.

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There was, however, a bit of last-bit drama on Tuesday, 16 July — the day the squads for the Sri Lanka tour were originally supposed to be announced. Suryakumar Yadav had suddenly entered the race as a candidate for T20I leadership. And he reportedly had the backing of Gambhir as well as chief selector Ajit Agarkar for the job over Pandya.

MI teammates Pandya and SKY had both taken up the responsibility of leading the Men in Blue after both Rohit and Kohli had stepped away indefinitely from the format following India’s semi-final exit in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

Both have had decent records as India captains — the Men in Blue winning 10 and losing five under Pandya, with the record standing at five wins and two defeats for Surya.

Pandya also made a solid case for India captaincy after guiding Gujarat Titans to back-to-back IPL finals, joining Rohit and MS Dhoni in an elite club. However, his forgettable debut as MI captain as well as his history with injuries might have ultimately robbed him of the prestigious, albeit high-pressure job.

There’s also the factor of Surya having got his first big break under Gambhir’s leadership at the Kolkata Knight Riders back in 2014. Before becoming an integral part of the MI middle order under Rohit’s leadership, Surya had spent four seasons at KKR with Gambhir at the helm.

Surely, Gambhir would’ve noticed leadership traits in him back then while developing him into the star batter that he would later turn out to be, and might just be more comfortable working with him in the leadership group with Rohit managing the Test and ODI formats.

Eye on the future

And by naming opening batter Shubhman Gill as the vice-captain, Gambhir as well as the BCCI have made their intentions clear as far as the future of the Indian men’s team is concerned. And unfortunately for Pandya, he will not be part of the leadership group anytime soon, unless there is a dramatic change of circumstances in the future.

Such game-changing decisions within a week of his appointment as head coach indicate the fact that the next three-and-a-half years will be a period that will witness the head coach having a greater influence in Indian cricket than was the case during the Kohli-Shastri or Rohit-Dravid eras.

The spotlight will now also fall on Rohit and Kohli, two of the senior-most players in the Indian team at present. The two former teammates and in-your-face Dilliwallahs have reportedly buried the hatchet and are expected to maintain a healthy relationship going forward. Rohit, meanwhile, is known to be on good terms with Gambhir, with the latter consistently heaping praise on the opener during his stints as a commentator and expert.

However, with GG’s no-nonsense approach to coaching, neither Rohit nor Kohli can take their places in the team for granted. Both icons have indicated their desire to continue playing Tests and ODIs some expecting them to continue till the 2027 ICC World Cup. However, it wouldn’t be too wise of them to expect Gambhir to put up with low scores for too long, especially since they’re both touching 40.

Gambhir has made quite the impact as a mentor in the IPL, first with Lucknow Super Giants and then with KKR. Whether that golden touch continues after his elevation to head coach of one of international cricket’s top teams remains to be seen.

Here’s hoping Gambhir’s headstrong approach doesn’t result in a “Chappell 2.0”, which we know turned out to be one of Indian cricket’s lowest points ever.

India squads for the tour of Sri Lanka:

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.