It's Gambhir v Superstars?

India head coach Gautam’s position to be revaluated after Champions Trophy. Team’s failure v NZ at home followed by 1-3 result in Australia makes his future shaky; his desire to end superstar culture hasn’t gone down well with seniors

Gautam Gambhir’s position as head coach will be “revaluated” on the basis of India’s Champions Trophy performance next month amid concerns that there is discontent in the dressing room due to his push to end the long-prevalent “superstar culture” in the team.

Since Gambhir took over in July last year, the Indian team has lost six out of 10 Tests and also a bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka.

The results have left Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s international future in significant disarray thanks to their own poor form.

But Gambhir’s position has also become slightly shaky. Adding to the drama is his speculated rift with prominent players during the Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia which India lost 1-3.

“If India doesn’t do well in the Champions Trophy, the head coach’s position could become untenable. Yes, his contract runs till the 2027 World Cup but the process of evaluation continues.

‘Sport is result-oriented’

“Sport is result-oriented and till now, Gambhir hasn’t given any tangible results,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Also Read: Team India eye clean sweep against Ireland in the third ODI

There has already been a review of the team’s performance in Australia by the BCCI. It is understood that Gambhir and senior players aren’t on the same page on the issue of team culture.

“Gambhir wants to end the superstar culture that has been prevalent for so many years now. As captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012, he had dropped Brendon McCullum from the playing XI for the IPL final against CSK.

“He has come here to dismantle the superstar culture and that’s what has caused discomfort for some playing members,” a source, who has seen Gambhir’s functioning closely, said.

Amid this ongoing tussle is the view of the national selection committee, which does not want the head coach to have too much of a say in selection matters. A former selector said Gambhir has shown shades of mercurial former coach Greg Chappell in his approach.

The Australian, who came amid much fanfare, left in chaos after developing differences with senior players over his training methods.

“Either you be like a Ravi Shastri, who would be media-friendly, give those sound bites propping up players making them look like alpha males,” said the former selector, who toured a lot during Shastri’s tenure as coach.

“Or be like Rahul Dravid, Gary Kirsten or John Wright, who would remain aloof, letting the players hog the limelight.

“The ‘Chappell Way’ doesn’t work in India. Gambhirs or Shastris or Dravids will go but players will stay,” he added.

Personal assistant issues

The BCCI brass is also upset with how Gambhir’s personal assistant shadowed the team everywhere in Australia.

“Why was his PA sitting in the car specified for national selectors? They can’t even discuss things in private with an unknown third person in the car. Why was he allotted space in the BCCI’s hospitality box in Adelaide?,” an irritated BCCI official said.

“How did he have breakfast in the cordoned off area of a five-star facility which is just earmarked for the team members?” he asked.

With the drama picking pace with every passing day, it would not be wrong to say that it is a very uneasy Indian dressing room that is heading into the Champions Trophy from February 19 to March 9.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!