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It is still early days, but signs of a rift appear to be emerging between India’s newly appointed T20 captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir. Their partnership has got off to a disappointing start, with India losing the T20 series to minnows Ireland. The defeat also ended India’s record run of 16 consecutive bilateral T20 series victories, raising questions about the direction of the new team management.
The fact that Shreyas was never Gambhir’s preferred choice for the captaincy now appears to be reflected in the team’s functioning. Sources close to the Indian team management told CricBlogger that Shreyas has little influence over key selection decisions, with Gambhir taking the final call on the playing XI.
“Even after winning the toss, it is Gambhir who appears to have the final say on what the Indian team will or will not do,” a source said.
One example cited is Gambhir’s decision not to hand teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a debut during the Ireland series. According to sources, the head coach instead persisted with Abhishek Sharma and continued to back his preferred option, Sanju Samson, ahead of the youngster.
Sources also claim that Shreyas is under pressure to adapt to Gambhir’s style of functioning. According to those familiar with the developments, Gambhir preferred a captain who would fully align with his vision, something they believe he found in Suryakumar Yadav but not in Shreyas.
There have also been indications from within the selection committee that Gambhir was not keen on having Shreyas in India’s T20 setup, let alone appointing him captain. Had Gambhir had his way, multiple sources claim he would have preferred either Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan to lead the side. However, the BCCI is understood to have made it clear that appointing the captain was the selectors’ prerogative, not the head coach’s.
“So, Gambhir had no option but to accept Shreyas as India’s T20 captain,” another source said.
Sources further added that the selectors were keen to include Shreyas in India’s T20 World Cup squad, while Gambhir had pushed for Washington Sundar to be picked instead.
