Unprecedented series defeats against Sri Lanka and New Zealand have put Gautam Gambhir under immense pressure barely three months after his appointment as head coach of the Indian team. He was appointed to the top job amid much fanfare and was also given a rare seat at the selection committee meeting for the tour of Australia. However, his initial report card clearly suggests that things are not looking good for the former India opener.

Unless there is a notable change in Australia, Gambhir, who was given a free hand in selection matters, may not have as much of a say in team-related matters in the coming times. Immediately after Gambhir took over, India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, and then New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of his team in the home Tests on Sunday, something the team has never experienced in its long journey in cricket.

While the coach cannot do more than that, questions are now being raised over the lack of prudence shown in opting for a top-ranked player in Mumbai despite knowing that the top-flight has failed time and again in the last six-seven years against quality. Spin the pins on wickets that offer decent spin. Even Gambhir’s philosophy of playing the same way, against all odds, is something those closely associated with Indian cricket have failed to understand.

Agreeing to send pacer Mohammed Siraj as night watchman on the second night of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai and Sarfaraz Khan at number 8 in the first innings are some of the tactical moves that everyone is questioning. “Gautam Gambhir was given access that his predecessors Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid did not have. The BCCI rule book does not allow coaches to be part of the selection committee meetings, but for the Australian tour selection meeting , an exception was made.

“The head coach was allowed to attend considering the magnitude of the tour,” a top BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity. At least two players, Delhi and KKR speedster Harshit Rana, and Andhra and SRH all-rounder Nitish Reddy, are in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) team on the insistence of the head coach.

However, Rana was not allowed any white-ball matches either in Sri Lanka or during the home series against Bangladesh. He was reported to have been released before the last match because he was unwell, but a week later he was back bowling in the Indian nets in Bengaluru. And then, he had a good outing in the Ranji Trophy against Assam.

There was a school of thought that believed that Rana, instead of participating in the Ranji Trophy, could have been sent to Australia with the Indian A team as playing one or two first-class matches on inflatable courts would have allowed him to hit the mark. duration before the test series.

Instead, he became a net bowler for the just-concluded Test series in which two of the three tracks changed ranks.

Coming to Reddy, he got into a pickle while facing a short ball in the ‘A’ game and his bowling, which is certainly not good enough to be among the top five bowlers, has also raised concerns.

Impressed by Reddy’s T20 skills, Gambhir was convinced that he can be the ideal replacement for Hardik Pandya as the bowling all-rounder.

The Australia series will be a litmus test for Gambhir as he might also have to become the harbinger of doom for some senior players and hold up the mirror to them as the board watches his moves from the sidelines.

The cover-up has also put the maverick Delhi man under the microscope.

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