'Shubman Gill should've had Kuldeep. It's his team, not Gambhir's': Gavaskar stirs the pot with 'all is hunky dory' dig
Sunil Gavaskar said Shubman Gill, not Gautam Gambhir, should call the shots as captain, stirring debate over who truly led India’s Test side.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, on Saturday, stirred the pot with his take on the Shubman Gill–Gautam Gambhir coach-captain dynamic. Gavaskar reminded the 25-year-old that it is his team—not Gambhir's—and that Gambhir's say on selection must rest with the captain.
Following the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma earlier in May, many labelled the new-look Indian Test side as Gambhir’s team, even though the selectors had appointed Gill as the new Test captain. The situation raised a key question: does Gill truly have command in the dressing room, especially with the vastly experienced, two-time World Cup winner Gambhir in the mix?
ALSO READ: Azharuddin fumes after Asia Cup nod for India vs Pakistan, calls out double standards: 'Don’t play tournaments if...'
On Day 4 of the must-win fourth Test in Manchester against England, part of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Gavaskar was asked point-blank whether this Indian team belongs to Gill's or Gambhir's generation. The legendary batter said he never faced such ambiguity during his captaincy days, largely because there was no head coach then. Instead, he sought inputs from managers or assistant managers, who were often former players themselves.
"We didn't have coaches. We just had former players as managers or assistant managers of the team. They were the kind of people who you went up to and talked to, they gave you some advice at lunchtime or at the end of the day's play or on the eve of the game," Gavaskar told Sony Sports.
{{/usCountry}}"We didn't have coaches. We just had former players as managers or assistant managers of the team. They were the kind of people who you went up to and talked to, they gave you some advice at lunchtime or at the end of the day's play or on the eve of the game," Gavaskar told Sony Sports.
{{/usCountry}}"So, it is difficult for me to get my head around the captain and the coach's combination. When I was captain, we had nobody who was a former player. To be honest, we have Wing Commander Durrani, Raj Singh Dungarpur. The only time we had Erapalli Prassana, and he was great."
{{/usCountry}}"So, it is difficult for me to get my head around the captain and the coach's combination. When I was captain, we had nobody who was a former player. To be honest, we have Wing Commander Durrani, Raj Singh Dungarpur. The only time we had Erapalli Prassana, and he was great."
{{/usCountry}}However, Gavaskar admitted that it should ultimately be the captain who has the bigger say in selection matters, referring to cases like Kuldeep Yadav—who is yet to be picked for a match on the England tour—and Shardul Thakur, who was dropped after the series opener but returned for the Manchester Test following Nitish Kumar Reddy’s injury.
{{/usCountry}}However, Gavaskar admitted that it should ultimately be the captain who has the bigger say in selection matters, referring to cases like Kuldeep Yadav—who is yet to be picked for a match on the England tour—and Shardul Thakur, who was dropped after the series opener but returned for the Manchester Test following Nitish Kumar Reddy’s injury.
{{/usCountry}}"The point is that at the end of the day it's a captain's team, like Nasser said. You can't say this, he didn't want somebody, maybe in Shardul Thakur's case or Kuldeep Yadav's case - he should have had them in the team. He's the captain. People are going to talk about him and his captaincy. So, it's got to be his call really," he added.
Gavaskar, however, took a subtle dig, hinting that not all selection calls may reflect the captain’s will, but are instead made to maintain a facade of unity.
"I know for the sake of the showing everything hunky dory these things might not come out. The fact is that captain is the one who is responsible. He is the one, who is going to be leading those."
