Gautam Gambhir's performance under scanner after disaster in Sri Lanka and India

After facing a series of defeats against Sri Lanka and New Zealand Team Indias head coach Gautam Gambhir is under immense pressure just after his appointment He was appointed to the top post amid much fanfare and was also given a rare seat at the selection committee meeting for the tour of AustraliaGautam Gambhir has been given a free hand in the selection matters After his appointment as captain Team India lost an ODI series against Sri Lanka for the very first time in 27 years Recently New Zealand registered a series sweep against India in India which was something unexpectedWhile the coach can do only as much questions are now being raised about the lack of prudence on display by going for a rank turner in Mumbai despite knowing that the toporder has time and again failed in the last six to seven years against quality spin bowling on wickets offering decent turn Even Gambhirs philosophy of playing the same way come hell or high water is something that those associated closely with Indian cricket have failed to fathomSending pacer Mohammed Siraj as a nightwatchman in the final Test against the Kiwis and Sarfaraz Khan batting at number eight in the first innings are some of the highlighted things which are being questioned by everyoneAlso ReadIt is disappointing but this poor patch wonrsquot last long Rohit Sharmas fan pins hope on turnaround in AustraliaGautam Gambhir was given access which his predecessors Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid didnt haveThe BCCIs rule book doesnt allow coaches to be a part of the selection committee meetings but for the Australia tour selection meeting an exception was made The head coach was allowed to attend considering the magnitude of the tour a senior BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymityDelhi pacer Harshit Rana and Andhra Pradesh allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy are included in the BorderGavaskar Trophy squad only on the demand of Gautam GambhirHowever Rana wasnt given any whiteball game in either Sri Lanka or during the home series against Bangladesh It was reported that he was released before the last match as he was unwell but within a week he was back bowling in the India nets in Bengaluru And then he had a good Ranji Trophy outing against AssamThere was a school of thought that believed Rana rather than featuring in the Ranji Trophy could have been sent to Australia with the India A team as playing one or two firstclass games on bouncy tracks there would have allowed him to hit the right length before the Test seriesInstead he was turned into a net bowler for the justconcluded Test series in which two of the three tracks were rank turners Coming to Reddy he got into a tangle while facing a short ball in the A game and his bowling which is certainly not good enough to be among the main five bowlers has also raised concernsImpressed by Nitish Kumar Reddys skills Gautam Gambhir believed that he could be an ideal choice as the replacement of Hardik PandyaThe Australia series will be an acid test for Gautam Gambhir as he might have to also become the harbinger of doom for some senior players and show them the mirror as the board watches his moves from the sidelines The whitewash has also put the maverick Delhi man under the lensWith PTI Inputs