IND vs SL: Team India has been buzzing in the cricket world since their glorious win in the T20 World Cup. Ex-head coach Rahul Dravid retired after his span with the Indian team. As the ex-KKR mentor who led them to the IPL triumph, Gautam Gambhir has officially been named the Team India head coach.
Gambhir’s first major international outing as India head coach will be India’s tour to Sri Lanka, which will begin on Saturday. Before Team India leaves for the Lankan island on Monday, Gambhir is about to make his first press conference in Mumbai with chief selector Ajit Agarkar alongside him.
Before the conference, Gambhir will be burdened with several big queries over his questionable team selection and the unlikely captaincy decisions he made for the Sri Lanka tour.
Questions ahead of Press Conference for Gambhir and co.
Hardik Pandya’s captaincy snub
This is probably Indian cricket’s most controversial decision, as after Rohit stepped down from the T20 international as India skipper, the most likely successor, Pandya, has been overlooked to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as their T20I skipper, maybe until the next T20 World Cup.
When made, this decision took the internet by storm, and this will be a crucial decision by Gambhir, which he will have to explain to the press.
Gill is appointed vice captain; there is no place for Gaikwad, Abhishek, and Samson
Out of nowhere, Shubman Gill was appointed the Team India vice captain for both formats of white-ball cricket. However, the decision seemed unlikely in the presence of many senior players.
Inform batter and Virat’s most likely successor, Ruturaj Gaikwad, was dropped from the India team, and no one can state any reason for the act. With the social media showing great passion for this move of Gambhir, he will have to face severe criticism if he fails to give an explanation worth contention.
Also, despite his good show on the Zimbabwe tour, rising talent Abhishek Sharma has been unnecessarily not given a chance in the T20i team traveling to Sri Lanka. Concerns continue for Sanju Samson, as the 29-year-old Royals skipper has always had this trouble of not being picked in the formats whenever a big tournament approaches. Gambhir has to clearly state his thoughts on the IPL great’s future.
The future of Ravindra Jadeja in Indian cricket
Sir Jadeja, as he has often been referred to, did not receive as warm a reception as the two other veterans after his retirement was announced after the T20 World Cup triumph. Adding to the controversy, he has now been dropped from the ODI squad as well.
Likely, India will include him on the test side; however, still having enough prowess in white-ball cricket, Jadeja hopes to feature in the Champions Trophy; however, Gambhir and team India selectors are yet to decide his future, which will be a major questionable act in the conference.