Why is Gautam Gambhir not selected for the three-match Test Series versus NZ?

Sep 12, 2016 at 3:16 PM

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Why is Gautam Gambhir not selected for the three-match Test Series versus NZ?

In the ongoing Duleep Trophy, Gautam Gambhir scored three half-centuries with scores of 77, 90 and 59 for India Blue in Day-Night pink ball matches in Greater Noida.  But when there were rumours that Gambhir might be selected, Indian selectors overlooked him for the New Zealand series and picked Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma who are not in good form.

Gambhir last played for India in 2014 when he toured England with the Indian team but failed to justify his selection in seaming conditions of England as he was dismissed for 0 and 3 respectively.

Now, this time for the home series, BCCI selectors didn’t consider him for selection. Now here are three reasons (speculation!) why BCCI didn’t consider Gambhir for home Test series? 

Face-off with captain Virat Kohli:  In 2013 IPL during a match in Eden Gardens, Virat was dismissed cheaply. Following his dismissal, there was a spat between Virat and Gambhir. Both the umpires rushed to the spot to stop the fight from escalating further. 

BCCI’s unstated policy to favour youngsters : BCCI, in recent times, especially from the Dhoni’s era, started to focus on youngsters. So, Gambhir, a 56 Test veteran, was overlooked along with Virender Sehwag, who after spending two frustrating years, retired from the game.

Even though Dhawan and Rohit are not in good form, BCCI selectors are averse to rock the boat and disrupt a largely steady team.

Besides this, BCCI never treats veteran players in a good manner as has been the case traditionally. These things happen to many players and Gambhir is just a new inclusion in this list. 

Rohit and Dhawan are Virat’s good friends:

Gambhir’s face-off with Virat may be a reason. But both Indian ODI openers Shikhar Dhawan and  Rohit Sharma are good friends of  Virat and on many occasions on the eve of match Virat cleared that Dhawan can win India a game in session and Sharma with a flurry of strokes in his kitty is a useful batsman for India even in the 5-day format. So Gambhir was not selected for the series.

Meanwhile, BCCI’s selection process is also not transparent, Chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said that India needs to give Rohit a fair amount of games, whatever he meant by that.

Having said al these, India plays a whopping 13 Test matches over next 5 to 6 months, so Gambhir mustn’t lose the heart and continue scoring runs. Who knows what’s in store for the angry young, not so actually, man of Indian cricket?

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