India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Sunday had asserted that the team didn’t drop Karun Nair and replaced him with Sai Sudharsan but rather picked the latter based on team combinations. “We don’t drop anyone. We pick best XI. We felt a left-hander at No.3 against this attack would have been better.
Anshul Kamboj also was picked because we thought he would do well in overcast conditions,” he had said after India and England played out a draw in Manchester in the 4th Test.
However, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar was not buying into the logic, saying that if someone was dropped from the team, he was dropped.
“And to suggest that Karun Nair ‘wasn’t dropped’… come on. You guys see it as a drop; for them, it’s about ‘picking the right team’. If someone is dropped, he is dropped,” Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.
Manjrekar didn’t mince words when he said that Gambhir hasn’t strategically been on point in the red-ball format. Despite the fighting draw on Sunday, India are trailing 1-2 in the series with just one match to go.
“I feel India has done well despite some of his (Gambhir) tactical decisions. Let’s not forget: India lost 3-0 at home (to) New Zealand, lost comfortably to Australia (away). The fight we’ve seen in this team? That’s down to the players. Because tactically, Gambhir hasn’t always made things easier – especially with some of his selections,” he said.
Over the past decade, whether it is some recently-retired superstars or current head coach and one or two senior players, there is always talk about “outside noise” which loosely means anyone who is critical of the team other than those present inside the confines of the dressing room.
“It’s not about ‘you guys think’ and ‘we think’ – we’re all part of the same industry and the same country. I’d just like to see him take a chill pill, relax a bit, and be open to tough questions. Whether that will happen, I’m not sure,” said Manjrekar.
(With agency inputs)
