Gambhir’s Initial Tactic
During India’s most recent tour, the weather in Colombo brought back memories of the 1990s. Tweakers deservedly dominated the sluggish, twisted, and occasionally kept low pitches, taking 43 of the 54 wickets. India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir’s tactical board under these circumstances was audacious, forward-thinking, and in step with the times, much like his distant predecessor Greg Chappell.
All-rounders, a left-right batting order, and flexibility were all essential components in Chappell’s vision of a modern ODI team (he even called MS Dhoni an all-rounder). Even while the World Cup disaster has received a lot of attention, it obscured India’s triumph in the One-Day Internationals (ODIs), as their depth in both batting and bowling allowed them to set a mark for the most consecutive chases (17), which is still standing.
Gambhir, like Chappell, favored using the floaters in the batting order all the way through the T20Is and ODIs. One example of this is Irfan Pathan, who kept opponents guessing. Even though Gambhir’s career is still young, there are enough signs to suggest that he intends to build on the groundwork Rahul Dravid set in the restricted overs. Beginning with the start of the T20Is at Pallekele With the three One-Day Internationals in Colombo, it was difficult to predict what India would do to counter the opposition’s strategies.
Left-right-left
As deep as he could go, Gambhir’s preferred left-right combination was made up of skilled left- and right-handed hitters. Gambhir, who was a brilliant and successful captain throughout his playing career, continues to support this tactic, particularly in situations where most teams lack an off-spinner. A left-hander always has an advantage over left-arm and leg spinners. For this reason, he sent players like Washington Sundar and Axar Patel into the ODIs ahead of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. In the second game, Rahul even batted at No. 7.
Although it may seem monotonous, Gambhir’s strategy has served him well in his roles as coach and captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders. Additionally, he has played Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is and Rohit Sharma in ODIs.His two captains, who have adopted similar strategies with the Mumbai Indians, are not unfamiliar with this idea.
Surprisingly, Gambhir disliked this tactic despite being an expert at broadcasting. “If the batter is good, we should see how he performs against every bowler and in every condition, regardless of whether he bats right or left. There’s no requirement to have three left-handers in the lineup or to maintain a left-hander on the team. Prior to India selecting the team for the 50-over World Cup last year, he had stated, “I don’t think we need to even start a debate like this.”
However, with one more left-hander to come later, there were at least four left-handers in the top seven in the Twenty20 Internationals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube. It fell to three in the ODIs, although Gambhir maintained flexibility in the batting order. For example, the squad sheet for the second ODI showed that India’s first five batsmen in the match were all right-handers, while the next five were all southpaws. However, Dube and Axar were ultimately positioned between the top five by India.
Equilibrium report
Over the last ten years, India has shifted from being an ODI team that relied heavily on seven specialist batsmen during the aughts to a bowling-friendly side, especially with Hardik Pandya sidelined. India’s batting depth ended at No. 7 since they were forced to rely on five specialized bowlers because none of their batsmen could make a living as part-timers. India attempted to hide the crack under Dravid, but they blatantly missed one in the 50-over World Cup final. A little batting cover could have allowed them to cross the boundary.However, Gambhir is noticing the changes quite rapidly. India employed seven bowling options in the last T20I, with the rarely used Suryakumar and Rinku bowling late. In the T20Is, India used at least six bowling options. This scheme also extended to the ODIs. In spite of Pandya’s absence, Rohit employed six bowlers without sacrificing batting depth. Washington, Riyan Parag, Dube, and Axar were among the players Gambhir selected because he wanted India to have adequate batting and bowling depth without jeopardising the team’s balance.
In addition to selecting a blend of left- and right-handed batsmen, the Duleep Trophy squads also take into consideration the concept of selecting versatile players. This explains how Dube, who isn’t exactly known for his red-ball skills, managed to secure a spot on the India A team. Tilak Varma and Parag did the same. Washington, Sai Kishore, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Musheer Khan make up the B team. Despite their lack of depth in this area, the C and D teams still have left and right handers.
