File photo of Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar© AFP
It is almost astounding to think that India were the T20 World Cup champions in March, and in June-July they have suffered two back-to-back T20I series losses. The transition process, which started with the Ireland series at the end of June, has got off to a jittery start. Under new captain Shreyas Iyer, India have played five T20Is without a win yet. And the BCCI has taken note of it. The cricket governing body will be organising a review meeting of the Indian team's poor show, which resulted in T20 series defeats against minnows Ireland and England, once the ODI series gets over on July 19, according to secretary Devajit Saikia, who made it clear that the Board will not take any "knee-jerk" decisions.
The Indian team lost 0-2 against Ireland and is already down 0-3 against England, with a match left on Friday.
However, it is learnt that there is no imminent threat to head coach Gautam Gambhir's future as he has a contract with the BCCI until the 2027 ODI World Cup. "The BCCI is currently observing the performance of the Indian T20 team, which has not been up to the mark in the ongoing series against England," BCCI secretary Saikia told PTI on Friday from the sidelines of the ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh.
The BCCI secretary said that it will be an overall assessment of the performance, but the board will not be taking any knee-jerk reaction. Saikia described the loss with two words - 'bad phase'.
"However, this is not something abnormal and can happen in international cricket. We consider it a purely bad phase. Once the ODI series gets over on July 19 and the team comes back, we will have a review meeting with the core members of the team to discuss what went wrong in England. Since there is an ODI series, we are hoping that the team will be back in good form," Saikia added.
Saikia also stressed that the review meeting will be "strictly about the performance of the team and how course correction can be done with regard to the shortfalls. Nothing else will be discussed."
Under head coach Gambhir, the Indian team has achieved many "unwanted firsts" -- including a 0-3 Test whitewash and an ODI series defeat at home against New Zealand, and the first-ever T20I series defeat against Ireland. But a potential 0-4 whitewash in T20Is against England is worse than a nightmare.
It is understood that the review meeting will be attended by Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer is expected to fly to Zimbabwe for the three-match series and hence there is no clarity on his availability.
Similar reviews had also taken place after the New Zealand home, Australia away and South Africa home series debacles.
It is only four months since India defended their T20 World Cup crown under the tutelage of Gambhir, and there is no reason to believe that a double ICC Trophy-winning coach will be dumped like a hot potato.
But there is another aspect that also holds true. Since that night in Ahmedabad, a lot of water has flowed through both the Sabarmati and the Thames, making this current team under new captain Shreyas Iyer look a pale shadow of its original self.
However, the former Delhi left-hander might be asked some pertinent questions about the horrendous performance of the T20 squad.
It is true that Gambhir is not a member of the selection committee that picks the squad. But when it comes to choosing the playing XI, the man from Delhi's Old Rajender Nagar has had the maximum say in a team that does not have too many superstars.
While the selection committee can be panned for not selecting Sanju Samson for the Zimbabwe T20 series, the question that begs an answer from Gambhir is why he would drop Samson from the playing XI to make space for 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, whose time would have come sooner or later.
Recently, when the news of Samson's axing from the Zimbabwe-bound squad, masquerading as being "rested", was announced, quotes from an old interview resurfaced in which he said that Gambhir had told him that he would only be dropped if he recorded 21 ducks.
Cut to India's post-match press conference after being bowled out for 76, where the head coach said that he had a "conversation" with Samson and would not reveal its contents, respecting the sanctity of their meeting.
But the question that comes up is that even if there is communication, is there clarity? If someone had been told to play freely and that 21 ducks would not matter, and the same person is later told that he is being "rested" after failing in three games post the T20 World Cup, can that player be blamed for getting conflicting signals?
Similarly, the second question that can be asked is why there was no consistency in team selection during the tour. Across six T20I games in Ireland and England (including the abandoned match), six different playing XIs were fielded, with no team being repeated in any of those games.
It is a worst-kept secret that Gambhir is not on the best of terms with either Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma when it comes to the ODI side, but these constant experiments have certainly created an air of uncertainty among players, who, rather than playing fearless cricket, will try to play for places in the XI.
The third question that comes to mind is his insistence on playing with batting depth until No. 8, something that has been his signature approach.
What Washington Sundar is doing in the T20 scheme of things is another polite query that begs an answer.
Former India keeper Deep Dasgupta, who is in the UK as a broadcaster, feels that with two years left, Gambhir and the team management should be allowed to look at a broader pool of players.
"Yes, it is frustrating and disappointing, but there's a bigger picture to look at. So there is no harm in trying players. These young players are not used to these conditions. Suddenly, the pitches are different. The way you play T20 cricket in the UK is different from how you play in India. In the IPL, the volume of runs in the first six overs becomes important, but in England, the approach in the Powerplay is more about preservation," Dasgupta said.
With PTI inputs
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