Challenges Waiting for Gautam Gambhir: People who know Gautam Gambhir describe him as a ‘boring form continuously’ as a person who does the same thing. A person who has not made any change in his way of eating in the last 20 years, then there is no question of experiment. Gambhir loves to wear denim in informal ceremonies and he has not made any changes for years. But when it comes to cricket, his brain is always looking for a solution to various strategic problems.
After the end of Rahul Dravid’s term with the T20 World Cup win in July, Gambhir has been commanded by the national team for eight months. Gambhir of Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar has seen success as well as some heart-breaking necklaces. He has seen both types of circumstances, including the top level of title win and six -Test defeat in the Champions Trophy.
The victory of the Champions Trophy has come like a fresh wind gust and ‘Guru Gambhir’ will get a chance to analyze a big picture as a big change is expected in Indian cricket in the next two important years. Gambhir will now reach in such times where there will be three different challenges in front of him, which will start with the Test tour of England. This will be as usual after the IPL in which there will be no time for preparation at all.
Gambhir’s second major challenge will be the T20 World Cup to be held in 2026 in India and Sri Lanka where Suryakumar Yadav’s team will come to save their title. And the last but the biggest challenge will be the 2027 ODI World Cup to be held in South Africa. If Gambhir’s coaching is seen in different format, then he has already prepared a group of core players for the T20 team led by Surya.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja did not feel lacking even after being out of the small format because the kind of cricket that India is playing in T20, he is getting fans worldwide.
Gambhir has discovered an influential player as Abhishek Sharma. When Varun Chakraborty and Jasprit Bumrah bowl in a global competition (World T20), they will be like a nightmare for eight over batsmen. Sanju Samson has achieved his rhythm, although Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal will also be present.
Arshadeep Singh is one of the best bowlers taking wickets in Powerplay and Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dubey are at least three fast bowling all -rounders. Suryakumar and Akshar are the old players of this team with Hardik. This is a team that has focused on all its departments and is automatically moving forward with some changes here and there.
But these are the other two formats where Gambhir will have to work together as strategists, disciplined and manager for results. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have made it clear that they are not retiring from ODI format soon. Sannyas is a personal decision and both have performed well in the Champions Trophy. But during the 2027 World Cup, Gambhir will not have the option to use four expert spinners and produce magic with a score of 240-250.
Large scores will be made and the question is whether Rohit will be able to contribute adequately with Kohli with his small and aggressive innings. Kohli will now be in the role of batsman who takes one end. Rohit has said that he will not retire but is also uncertain about his participation in the 2027 World Cup. Here Gambhir will have to come forward and the policy of keeping the team on top will not change. He hates superstar culture. He has great respect for those who perform in mind which is beyond seniority.
It would not be surprising if he demands some clarity from both the board and the National Selection Committee how they see Rohit in the ODI World Cup plans because the team has to play only 27 ODIs before the World Cup. Another issue that will be considered is who will be the next captain? Shubman Gill is a great ODI player and has played the role of vice -captain under Rohit’s leader but Hardik Pandya is also a good leader. He performed well under the leadership of head coach Ashish Nehra in Gujarat Titans.
In the near future, Gambhir will also have to pay attention to the Test cricket team where they will have to face the most challenges. If Rohit plays and Jaiswal and Lokesh Rahul are in the top three, then what will happen to Shubman Gill as a Test cricketer? Will he be able to bring Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammad Siraj in the best form for the series against England where swing and seam bowlers will be helped.
What will happen to that one place in the middle order which has been the weakness of India for some time. Will Karun Nair fit there or Shreyas Iyer will get back his place in the Test team again. ‘Guru Gambhir’ has some difficult options, but never afraid of making adventure decisions.
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