Gautam Gambhir wants full control of Team India, only Jasprit Bumrah can stop that, Shubman Gill can't question: Report
After the retirement of captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli from Test cricket, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has reportedly asked the BCCI for full control of the team's proceedings. According to a Dainik Jagran report, Gambhir came into the setup with the idea of ending the superstar culture of Indian cricket. His first move was to come up with the 10-point diktat, forcing all players to feature in domestic cricket whenever available and behave in a certain way when on tours. The second phase was to build a side for the future.
Gambhir reportedly was instrumental in phasing out Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket. The dynamic duo announced their retirement in quick succession, a week before India's squad selection for the England tour, after Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar informed them about the team management's plans to go ahead with a younger squad.
This is the first instance of a head coach playing an active role in the phasing out of two of the biggest stars of an Indian cricket team. Historically, Indian teams have been run by their captains. Coaches, no matter how big a name they are, have always stayed backstage, allowing the big players to take the lead. Take the recent examples of Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid. They were always associates of captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, rarely trying to challenge their authority.
The report claimed that Gambhir's case was different. He had as much say in policy-making, squad selection, and other team-related matters as the captain, and now that Rohit, Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin have all retired, he is likely to be the one calling the shots.
"In order to stop a repeat of the home-series defeat against New Zealand and the debacle in Australia, Gambhir has requested the board for full autonomy," the report added.
The report further adds that he would have a captain in Shubman Gill, who is likely to listen to him as he is still young. He may be pitted as a future superstar but he still hasn't reached that stage where he can challenge Gambhir's calls. The only cricketer in the current Indian Test side who perhaps could have countered Gambhir's tactics and that is pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
Notably, Bumrah would have been an automatic choice to captain the Test side had his fitness not been a major concern. Bumrah was the designated vice-captain in Rohit Sharma's tenure and has even led India in three Tests in England and Australia. But because he is too precious as fast bowler and his workload needs to be managed, it was not possible to give him full-time captaincy.
Therefore, Gambhir is likely to be the primo-supremo of the Indian Test side even if Gill is appointed the captain.
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