Gambhir said if the selectors want to look beyond Kohli, Rohit and Rahul, then so be it
If the selectors believe in looking beyond senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Lokesh Rahul, then so be it, feels former opener Gautam Gambhir, who was part of India’s two-time world champion team. Gambhir, who was the highest individual scorer in India’s title triumphs in T20 World Cup 2007 and World Cup 2011, also wants more clarity on the individual players of the team and their place in the team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not clarified whether all three have been rested or dropped along with Rishabh Pant for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka starting January 3. Gambhir told ‘ESPNcricinfo’ on Thursday, “There should be clarity. There should be good communication between the selectors and these players. If the selectors have decided to look beyond these guys, so be it. I think a lot of countries have done that.
Gambhir doesn’t understand the hue and cry over the ousting of senior players. “When the selectors and management look beyond a few players, we create a lot of hue and cry. Ultimately it is not about individual players but it is about how you want to go ahead with your plans for the next (T20) World Cup (in 2024). After all you want to go out there and win it. If these players could not achieve it then who knows players like Suryakumar, the younger generation may achieve that dream.
Gambhir believes that the comeback of this trio in the shortest format is looking difficult at the moment. Gambhir said, “Personally, if you ask me, it seems difficult. People like Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan should be in the team. Hardik Pandya is there. I want to see players like Prithvi Shaw, Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson in the team. They can play fearless cricket.” Gambhir also hit out at the current team management led by Rahul Dravid citing aggression.
He said, “We have said a lot about the last (T20) World Cup that we want to play a certain template, we want to play attacking cricket but when it comes to the important match (semi-final against England) Rishabh Pant, who went to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for a strength and conditioning program in the first week of January, feels Gambhir has been ruled out of limited-overs cricket .
Gambhir said, “First of all the selectors should be clear whether he has been rested or dropped. According to me he has been dropped from white ball cricket. There has never been enough clarity about it. This word called ‘comfort’ is great, it was not there when we were playing. Either we were dropped or selected. Gambhir also wants youngster Ishan Kishan to get enough opportunities.
