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Gautam Gambhir's Hazy Test Vision Can Only Lead India To Gloom, Not Glory!

Debashis Sarangi

India have lost 7 out of their last nine Tests in Gambhir's tenure [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X]India have lost 7 out of their last nine Tests in Gambhir's tenure [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/X]

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

What the great Confucius said hundreds of decades ago still stands true for the Indian Test side struck by the tranquillity of indecisiveness amid a scorching English summer. 

The euphoria of the glory days is gone, and the entire India has started coming to terms with the state of its Test side. Since their dominant home victory against Bangladesh, India's Men in Whites have taken a deep sleep, conceding seven out of nine games in the purest format. 

Should it be believed that a country of 1.4 billion people lacks promising talents? No, not at all. All we can say is that India is the victim of their lacklustre planning and confusing strategy, envisioned by none other than the head coach, Gautam Gambhir. 

All-rounders Over Specialists: A Flawed Strategy In Tests

Despite not having Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI, India decided to ignore Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, who currently seem like two unused potent weapons in India's armour. 

It's understandable to manage Bumrah's workload and protect him from a problematic back, but in his absence, India should've opted to ensure an element of surprise by getting Arshdeep and Kuldeep in. 

They formed a holy trinity of all-rounders instead, bringing in Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar alongside Ravindra Jadeja for the Edgbaston clash. Even if we consider Sundar's evolution, neither Jadeja nor Nitish is going to be an effective counter to England's swashbucklers. 

Multidimensional players getting special privilege over specialists has been a regular occurrence since Gautam Gambhir's tenure as India's head coach. It's undoubtedly a certified ploy to succeed in limited overs cricket, but historical evidence and the cricketing rulebook suggest otherwise in Tests. 

Tit for Tat: India's Unrealistic Approach To Counter Bazball

The possible reason behind empowering the team with a deep batting line-up could be India's desire to win the Edgbaston Test by out-batting England. Even if that's the case, the gamble lacks logical reasoning, as the visitors simply can't rely on their under-transition batting unit and back themselves for an ultra-aggressive game-play with precision. 

Therefore, it would have been a wise call if India's Gambhir-led think tank had fine-tuned the bowling combination by including players who could force mistakes, rather than those who could only hope for the Englishmen to commit errors. 

Wrong Precedents That Could Result In An Everlasting Transition

Effective team management demonstrates trust in young players when a team is undergoing transformation. This ensures ample game time for the individuals, facilitating a smooth transition. 

However, Gautam Gambhir's approach to dealing with a set of players is likely to be a major roadblock for the Test side. From Mukesh Kumar's axing to Harshit Rana's return and Sai Sudharsan's exclusion after just one Test, such decisions reflect a lack of clarity and set a wrong precedent for future management. 

"For the best interest of the team" is a phrase that sounds fancy in press conferences, but at ground level, selection calls must be consistent and thoroughly backed by cricketing logic. Otherwise, the ongoing musical chairs will lead India to a never-ending transition cycle. 

Final Verdict: Attack Is The Best Form Of Defence

There was a period when India were blessed with a fearsome pace battery comprising Bumrah, Shami, Ishant and Umesh Yadav. That was the perfect time to groom youngsters who could've emerged as maestros of Test cricket by now. 

But again, it's not the right time for a blame game, and the Gambhir-led management can focus on utilising what it has rather than making excuses. 

India's golden period in Tests came only when they realised the importance of taking 20 wickets. As Ravi Shastri famously stated, a world-class bowling attack must remain ruthless regardless of conditions. 

Thus, it's high time for Gambhir to give up his stubbornness and make decisions that are in the best interest of the team. Unless he goes back to the drawing board, his image will be reduced from a bold thinker to a man of more words and fewer actions.