Delhi: India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is already under pressure due to India’s poor performance in the home series against New Zealand and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, may now be in further trouble because of his personal assistant (PA).
Question on presence of Gambhir’s PA
BCCI officials did not like that Gambhir’s personal assistant followed the team everywhere in Australia.
Speaking to PTI, a BCCI official, on condition of anonymity, expressed his displeasure, saying, “Why was Gambhir’s assistant given a place in the car meant for the national selectors? The selectors could not even have private discussions when an outsider was present in the car.”
He further raised questions as to how Gambhir’s assistant was given a place in the BCCI guest gallery in Adelaide. The official also asked, “How was he having breakfast in a part of the five-star hotel that was designated only for players and support staff?”
Situation like Chappell?
Amidst this controversy, the National Selection Committee is also of the opinion that the head coach should not interfere too much in selection matters. A former selector compared Gambhir’s attitude to that of former coach Greg Chappell. Australian coach Chappell, who had come with high expectations, returned unsuccessfully after disputes with the players.
The former selector said, “Either you be like Ravi Shastri, who was media-friendly, encouraged players and presented them as heroes. Or be like Rahul Dravid, Gary Kirsten or John Wright, who put the players first and did not pay much attention to themselves. But ‘chappell style’ does not work in India. Gambhir, Shastri or Dravid will come and go, but the players will always remain.”
Since Gautam Gambhir became the coach in July, the Indian team has lost 6 out of 10 Test matches and also lost the ODI series in Sri Lanka.
Gambhir’s position now seems a bit insecure. Rumors of his differences with key players during the Border-Gavaskar Test series are further complicating the situation.
