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Is Gautam Gambhir’s international career over?

Gambhir's average performance in IPL 2015 has raised questions regarding his future.

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Gautam Gambhir © Getty Images
Gautam Gambhir © Getty Images

With the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) failing to reach the Playoff stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015, the performance of a few of the Indian players in the tournament have come under the scanner, leading to speculations regarding their suitability for the national team. The list would include likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and most importantly, skipper Gautam Gambhir, whose performance has become a topic of hot discussion. Ayush Gupta takes a call on his prospects of making it back to the Indian squad.

Born in Delhi, Gautam Gambhir kicked off his international career against Bangladesh back in 2003. While his debut wasn’t exactly memorable, he proved his talent in the third game of the series by scoring a match winning 71 against the hosts. The very next year, he earned his Test cap. Though he failed in his first Test, in the next match the southpaw scored a classy 96.  His maiden Test century came in his fourth Test against Bangladesh. READ: Why KKR failed in IPL 2015

He quickly earned recognition as a healthy opener and became a regular member of the Indian squad in Test cricket along with fellow Delhi teammate and explosive opener, Virender Sehwag. Three years later, he was drafted to the shortest format of the game. He was an instant hit in the format, scoring runs in a flurry as an opening batsman and also scoring his maiden half-century in his very second game.

However, after enjoying a golden run for three years in T20Is, he soon faded out in the format. He suffered more or less a same fate in Test cricket until 2012, when he played his last Test series in England. He suffered terrible run-outs that more or less ruined his Test career. His last ODI appearance was in 2013, following which, he started fading out of the national squad. READ: KKR messed up in the game vs RR, says Gambhir

Nevertheless, he continued to perform in the domestic circuit. He played all forms of cricket for Delhi and was eventually selected as the skipper for the side. Also, ever since he joined KKR in 2011, and has been a consistent performer for the team, scoring a massive 2,346 runs till date to become the highest run-scorer for the franchise. He has maintained a healthy strike rate of 124.65 and an average of 28.60, which includes 21 half-centuries and the highest score being 93. He is also the second highest run-scorer for KKR in a single season — 590 runs during the 2012 season, owing to which KKR managed to win its maiden IPL trophy. READ: Gautam Gambhir completes 3,000 IPL runs

It was owing to this performance of his, he was recalled to the national side the same year to play a number of T20Is, including the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka. However, he couldn’t light up the magic as he did in the IPL, scoring just 186 runs in 11 games with no half-centuries with his highest score being an unbeaten 45 against England. He has faded out of the format completely ever since.

Although he managed to continue his excellence in the ODIs following his magic in the 2012 IPL, it was not until 2013, he last played an ODI for India against England. Even though he had a decent performance till then, his inconsistent form was not enough to impress the selectors as they ran out of confidence on him, thus leading to his downfall.

However, his national downfall hardly had any impact on his domestic career, as he continued to excel in the circuit, especially in First-Class cricket and T20 (IPL). Apart from his successful captaincy in the IPL for KKR, he was also the highest run-scorer for Delhi in the just-concluded domestic season, scoring 736 runs from 10 games, along with a strike-rate 49.49 and an average of 52.57, including a couple of centuries and three half-centuries, with the highest score being 167. He was not as impressive as in the longest format in the List-A or domestic T20 (barring IPL).

However, the IPL tells a whole different story regarding his performance in the shortest version of the game. Although he was not as impressive this season, as he usually was during the previous seasons, he scored 327 runs at an average of 25.15 and a strike rate of 117.62, including three half-centuries, with a highest score was 60. Unlike the previous season, he again finished as the second highest run-scorer for KKR, behind Uthappa with 364 runs, thus leading to KKR’s second IPL title.

Considering his playing technique, his biggest problem that still persists, is his lack of patience. A prime example would be his late cut towards third man, a position where he tends to get caught. Although he has worked upon the area for quite some time in the recent past and has tended to improve it, it has not been enough to gain confidence into the selectors again.

Thus, considering his overall performance, despite a decent domestic performance, he has been highly inconsistent in both domestic and international circuit. Although, he is lucky to be on the top-scorers list for his teams, it’s his inconsistency that leads to his fallout from the prospects of making it to the national squad – something that matters most to him and to every other Indian player.

Recently, he was again not considered for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh in either ODIs or Test squad. With a healthy performance in the domestic season, a few of the Indian cricket experts had hinted a comeback, but as said earlier, it’s his inconsistency that has led to his fallout again from the eyes of the selectors. With age catching up, it is obvious that his time is running out as far as his selection in the team is concerned. It’s just the T20 format that he might be considered for, or else, it could well be a ‘Game Over’ for him, considering the strength and the prospects of the current young Indian team looking pretty bright.

(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)

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