Published: Sep 15, 2016, 11:25 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 15, 2016, 11:25 AM (IST)
When the Indian squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against the visiting New Zealand side was announced, the biggest surprise of them all was the absence of Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir. The southpaw, who has been running out of the side for last two years now, was expected to make a comeback due to his recent run of prolific scores in the Duleep Trophy, where he hit four consecutive fifties and led India Blue to the title.
Another strong reason why he was being tipped to make a comeback was opener Shikhar Dhawan’s inconsistency and indifferent form at the top of the order. However, with the captain Virat Kohli and the coach Anil Kumble backing him, the selectors decided to persist with Dhawan. And thus, there was no room for Gambhir. A fighter that he is, Gambhir let the world and his fans know that he was down but not out. He vowed to continue fighting and make a comeback to the team through his social media posts.
Gambhir may have scored runs of late, but one thing that has always stood apart is his captaincy. He has successfully led the sides in four domestic finals in India and have won all four, including the recent Duleep Trophy win. Besides, he has been instrumental in changing the fortunes of KKR as he has led them to two titles since the side’s revamp in 2011. Despite all the success in T20 cricket and in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy played with the pink ball under the lights, Gambhir believes that the game should be played in the traditional way with the red ball.
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“I am a traditionalist who loves to play the game in the old way. It is my personal opinion but I think all these changes and experimentation should be carried out in T20 cricket only. The five-day matches and Tests should be played with the red ball. At least that’s the way I feel about it,” Gambhir had told the reporters after the Duleep Trophy final in Greater Noida on Wednesday. The 34-year old batting for the day Tests with red ball comes as a surprise given his proficiency with the pink ball as he scored 356 runs in Duleep Trophy at 71.20.
Gambhir’s statement could be understood by his concerns with the pink ball. He had also supported Cheteshwar Pujara’s statement on the difficulty to pick the pink ball under the lights. “I completely agree with what (Cheteshwar) Pujara said during the presentation ceremony. Under lights it is a different game and it is always difficult to pick up the wrist spinners and googly bowlers.” But with cricket experts touting ‘pink ball-day-night’ cricket as the future of Test cricket, it will be interesting to see whether Gambhir, who desperately wants to return to the team, changes his stand or not.
