The BCCI came under fire last week as it is said to have temporarily shelved its much-discussed ‘Project Shubman Gill’ plans due to India’s ODI and Test captain not being included in the T20 World Cup squad. Gill, who was India’s T20I vice-captain and was considered by all to be India’s future captain across all formats, did not make the final squad.
According to Gill, the move increased confusion among the players and raised doubts over the vision and strategy of the regime, which was led by none other than head coach Gautam Gambhir, according to a PTI report. Gill was recalled to the T20 International squad in September of the current year after being away from the special format for over a year, and despite being left out of the 2024 T20 World Cup squad, he was once again made the vice-captain, replacing none other than the in-form Sanju Samson.
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During the next four months, Gill was a regular in all T20Is, believed to be fully supported by the management, but the 25-year-old Gill could not live up to the trust placed in him and managed only 291 runs in 15 innings without scoring a single half-century. This drought also continued in the last T20I series in the country, with scores of 4, 0 and 28 in the opening three matches against South Africa, after which the selectors went back to their earlier plan, with Samson getting regular selection as the top-order player.
According to this report, the Indian dressing room today is a “confused place” where players remain unclear about their roles and security, unlike the Rahul Dravid era when roles were “clearly marked and players got ample time to get into it.” Rahul Dravid led Indian cricket for three years.
“If the next poster boy of Indian cricket can be sidelined, then anyone’s name could be next to be dropped.” Mentioned in the report
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“Those who have the final say in the BCCI will have ample time to take an informed decision about split coaching or keeping the same coach in all formats after analyzing India’s performance at the global meet,” it read.
With the T20 World Cup set to begin in six weeks, this tournament could prove to be a game-changer for Gambhir as a coach. While India have been successful in all formats except the Test finalists over the past few months and won the Champions Trophy title and T20 Asia Cup title respectively, the poor run they have been continuing is raising many eyebrows about his current role as the coach of India’s red-ball team.
