Despite the mixed results, some of Gambhir's important decisions have turned out to be advantageous for India.
It has been a mix of performances from Team India since Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach. In red-ball cricket, India won the series against Bangladesh but then suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat at home against New Zealand, followed by a convincing 3-1 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It has not been the kind of start Gambhir would have hoped for in Test cricket.
However, his team has done quite well in white-ball cricket. Though they have lost the solitary ODI series they played against Sri Lanka, they have dominated in T20Is, winning all the series till date, and even against very strong teams such as South Africa and England.
Despite the mixed results, some of Gambhir’s important decisions have turned out to be advantageous for India. These are the three best decisions Gautam Gambhir has taken as head coach of India so far.
One of the key decisions Gambhir made was backing a young Nitish Kumar Reddy in an away Test series in Australia. Playing him from the first Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, despite it being his debut series and having just 28 first-class matches under his belt, was a bold call.
However, it worked out well for India as he scored 298 runs in 5 matches, batting down the order, and averaging 37.25, along with a century. He hardly bowled during the series, but he did take 5 wickets. The management gave him full opportunities, and he played all the five matches of the series. Looking at his performances, he has the potential to become a regular player in India’s Test setup as an all-rounder.
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Abhishek Sharma made his T20I debut during the series against Zimbabwe last year. At that time, Gambhir’s tenure had not started, and VVS Laxman was the coach for the series. In just his second match, he scored his first hundred.
Since then, he has been part of every series under head coach Gautam Gambhir. Though his form dipped slightly in between, he regained it during the series against England, where he performed exceptionally well. He was the top scorer of the series with 279 runs in five matches, averaging 55.80 with a strike rate of 219.68, including one century and one half-century. In the final match of the series, he smashed 135 off just 54 balls.
With intense competition for the two opening slots, Abhishek Sharma has made a strong case to secure one for himself.
Another key decision made by Gambhir and the management was selecting Washington Sundar for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune, replacing Kuldeep Yadav. Many people criticized this decision, but it turned out to be a great one.
Sundar delivered an outstanding performance, taking 7/59 and 4/56 in the two innings, making him India’s best player in that match, even though they lost. He played again in the third Test and picked up 4/81 and 1/30. With 16 wickets in two Tests, he was the leading wicket-taker of the series.
The decision to play Sundar was both bold and beneficial. Gautam Gambhir trusts Sundar’s abilities and sees him as a potential successor to Ashwin, given his impressive all-round skills.
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