CHENNAI: When Gautam Gambhir took the dais inside the press conference room of the Sydney Cricket Ground on the afternoon of January 5, it had been only minutes since Australia had handed India an overpowering 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But the interaction was not just going to be about what happened on the field in Sydney, but his tenure till that time.
Since taking over as head coach of the team, Gambhir had faced an ODI series loss in Sri Lanka, 0-3 clean sweep Test series versus New Zealand (their first series loss at home in 12 years) apart from conceding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. That was not all though. Tensions had been building up through the tour with R Ashwin's retirement, rumours of rift in dressing room and Rohit Sharma not playing the fifth Test. While Sharma admitted later that he stood down owing to lack of runs, Gambhir not saying so on the eve of the Test led to more rumours. It did not look good.
However, if you were in the room, watching Gambhir talk without knowing the scoreline, you might have confused it for a winning team press conference. That is just how Gambhir's press conferences usually are. However, even the former Indian captain had to concede that it had been 'tough'.
"Absolutely no doubt about it. It’s been really tough and obviously these weren’t the results what we were expecting in the last eight Test matches but that is what sport is all about all I can expect from that dressing room is to keep fighting and all we all can do not only as players but as a post office to be honest and keep fighting and keep doing the right things what is good for Indian cricket. It’s a result oriented sport and we all play for result and it hasn’t gone away as simple as it can be,” he had said.
For a coach who was handed a tenure of three years — till the ODI World Cup in 2027 — Gambhir was under pressure. His team, without seniors, had been thriving in the shortest format, but that was never going to be the challenge. His task, of course, was to oversee the transition while bringing trophies. The first part of it is a continual process and will perhaps happen through the course of his tenure, but also interlinked with the second.
When the senior seniors did not rise to the occasion through the eight match stretch where they won just one game, all eyes were on the head coach and selection committee chair Ajit Agarkar on how they were going to proceed. Their first step was to get things back on track by winning the ICC Champions Trophy. Had India had a poor campaign, things could have gone sideways not just for the captain, but also for the head coach and his support staff — Gambhir was indeed given a freehand to bring whoever he wanted.
But Gambhir, who consistently backed the seniors to come good, remained unfazed. When questions were raised about his fixation of left-right combinations, or having multiple all-rounders, or preferring KL Rahul over Rishabh Pant or even picking two spinners and three spin-bowling "all-rounders", the coach stuck to the template he wanted. On Sunday, even though he might not necessarily have said it in as many words, he would have felt vindicated to some extent in Dubai. "From day 1, we were clear in our mind that we want six bowling options, even if that means we compromise with our batting power. Because bowlers win your tournaments, batters only set up the tournaments. And batters only win you matches but bowlers win you tournaments," he would explain in a chat with the broadcasters.
What this win also does is kickstarts an important cycle post the Indian Premier League with both captain and coach beaming with confidence. While there is no question on his ODI credentials, Sharma, who is the Test captain as things stand, has had a poor run in the longer format. What will be interesting to see is how the head coach and captain take the way forward with a new World Test Championship cycle getting underway. That is, however, a matter for May 2025 perhaps.
For now, Gambhir and his staff have ticked off one major box in their checklist. It's time to savour that before moving on to the next one.
