Gautam Gambhir lashed out at Team India’s management for demoting Rohit Sharma to no.3 in a must-win encounter against New Zealand on Sunday. The former opener labelled Rohit Sharma as India’s best white-ball cricketer, saying that changing his batting position was “negative thinking” from the think tank.
India slumped to a heavy eight-wicket defeat against Kane Williamson’s men after a 10 wicket loss to Pakistan. With Suryakumar Yadav being unavailable as he was unfit, India included Ishan Kishan in the playing XI. The southpaw opened alongside KL Rahul, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to follow. But the move didn’t pay dividends as any of the top four scored more than 18 runs, and India could only put up 110 runs on the board.
Gautam Gambhir: If One Expects Ishan Kishan To Do Something That Rohit Sharma Can’t, It’s The Wrong Mindset
Gautam Gambhir’s remarks came while speaking on a chat. He also said India, expecting Ishan Kishan to play better than Rohit Sharma at the top of the order, had led bare the issues in the team and displayed a “wrong mindset”.
Gautam Gambhir said: “If you expect Ishan Kishan to do something that Rohit Sharma can’t then there are issues and it’s the wrong mindset. If you are thinking that Ishan Kishan will give you a flying start of 60 runs in the first six overs and then Virat and Rohit can come and milk it, it is wrong because we haven’t seen a better white-ball cricketer than Rohit Sharma. The player has four T20I hundreds and you are still batting him at No.3 then it’s negative thinking.”
Ishan Kishan (4 off 8) got out playing a lofted flick off his pads against Trent Boult that went straight to the fielder at square leg. Rohit Sharma (14 off 14), meanwhile, was looking good after getting dropped on the first ball, but he mistimed a loose short ball from Ish Sodhi to long-on.
New Zealand chased the target with more than five overs to spare. The Indian batsmen Ishan Kishan (4 off 8 balls), Rohit Sharma (14 off 14 balls), KL Rahul (18 off 16), Virat Kohli (9 off 17), Rishabh Pant (12 off 19) failed when it mattered most.
Gautam Gambhir: There’s Panic In The Dressing Room
Like many others in the cricket fraternity, Gautam Gambhir assessed India’s changes to the batting order as a sign of “panic in the dressing room”. He said the team could have played Ishan Kishan at no.3 and the skipper at no.4 instead. India ended up posting 110 for 7 in stipulated 20 overs, in which they didn’t effectively score runs in nine of those overs (54 dot balls).
Gautam Gambhir said: “You could have opened with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul and if Virat Kohli had to play at No.4 only then Ishan Kishan could have come at No.3. I believe that one change forces you to make a lot more. Virat Kohli changed his own position, Rohit Sharma’s position – this shows your mentality and that there’s panic in the dressing room.”
Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli all perished cheaply against New Zealand as India lost their first four wickets with only 48 on the board within 10 overs. Their net run rate was below 5, and the pressure to not lose wickets besides accelerating the run rate was a tough ask for India’s next-in-line batsmen.
None of the strike rates of any Indian batsmen was above 120 except Ravindra Jadeja, whose unbeaten 26 off 19 at a strike rate of 136.84 gave India a somewhat respectable total. India will now most likely need to beat remaining opponents Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia while hoping that other results and the net run rate equation go their way if they are to make it into the final four.