India A or Australia A, the second unofficial Test match will commence on November 7 at the MCG and thus senior batter KL Rahul and reserve keeper Dhruv Jurel will depart for Australia to get some practice before the first game in Perth on November 22. Both Dude and Jurel were included in the Indian roster during the New Zealand series but the former used to play in the first match and then was out of the playing order, Jurel who played his first game against England series this year came back in India squaring the series with England but has not played since then with Pant back in the team.
The Indian team management is keen to allow for every player, especially the reserves who can be called up at any point in this seven-week long series, to play enough matches possible in order to prepare them.
After suffering unprecedented series defeats against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, Gambhir has come under severe pressure ps barely three months into his new position as the head coach of the Indian national team.
Few managerial appointments can rival the pomp that greeted Gambhir’s assumption of office, as he was also indulged with a place in the selection meeting for the tour of Australia. His first report card however seems to suggest that it is not rosy at all for the former India opener.
Unless there is a sensational change in circumstances out there in Australia, Gambhir who was given a carte blanche on selection issues will find it difficult to influence selection matters in the near future.
As soon as Gambhir assumed charge, for the first time in 27 years, Sri Lanka beat India in an ODI series, the followed was the 3-0 thrashing of his team by New Zealand in Tests in their own backyard on a very rare occasion which the team has never encountered in its long history of playing cricket.
The coach has limitations to his abilities, however, there have been raised eyebrows regarding going for a rank turner in Mumbai when the top order has not performed up to its standards for the last six to seven years where decent spin has been present on the wickets.
Gambhir’s strategy to perpetuate the same brand of cricket whether the conditions of the adversary are conducive or not is however something that people who have been in close proximity to Indian cricket do not understand.
Siraj in the second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai agreed to play as a night-watchman on the second evening and Sarfaraz Khan at No.8 in the first innings are some of the tactical moves which are being raised eyebrows on by everyone.
“Gautam Gambhir was privy to some information that his predecessor, Ravi Shastri, and his successor, Rahul Dravid, were not privy to. The BCCI’s constitution forbids the inclusion of coaches in selection meetings, except in the case of the selectors’ meeting for the Australia tour where a coach was included.
“Considering the size of the tour, the head coach was permitted to be there,” was a statement made by a senior BCCI official to PTI on conditions of anonymity.
