Former India captain Kris Srikkanth criticized Gautam Gambhir for inconsistency in India’s Test selection, expressing unwillingness to accept justifications from the team management. His comments were made during a YouTube show following India’s 288-run deficit in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa.
Critics expressed strong discontent as India faced the prospect of another home series whitewash, following a previous 0-3 defeat to New Zealand last year. After a loss in the series opener on a challenging pitch in Kolkata, India was thoroughly outperformed in the first innings during the match in Guwahati, where South Africa scored 489 runs after choosing to bat first, subsequently bowling India out for just 201 runs.
“Every alternate match someone is making debut. They can say trial and error. Gautam Gambhir can say whatever he wants. I don’t care. I have been a former captain and former chairman of selector. I know what I am talking about. I am not talking through my hat. You need consistency,” Srikkanth said.
Gautam Gambhir’s statement regarding not dropping players from the team and focusing on selecting the right lineup stands in contrast to a notable statistic: under his leadership, the Indian cricket team has fielded 24 different players in Test matches within a single year. This is a stark increase compared to the 41 players utilized throughout Virat Kohli’s seven-year captaincy. This discrepancy highlights the significant changes in team composition under Gambhir’s captaincy.
