Gavaskar hints Gambhir, not Gill, had final say in Kuldeep's exclusion

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has voiced his concerns over the team selection dynamics within the Indian camp, particularly questioning whether skipper Shubman Gill had full control over the playing XI for the ongoing fourth Test against England.  Gavaskar firmly believes that team decisions must be made by the captain, independent of external influence, including that of the head coach.  Gavaskar hinting Gill didn't have final say on eleven

 

Speaking on Sony Sports, Gavaskar stated: "At the end of the day, it is the captain's team. You can't say that he didn't want somebody like, in Shardul Thakur's case or Kuldeep Yadav's case, that he didn't want them, maybe Shubman didn't want Shardul in the team and wanted Kuldeep."

 

 

The absence of Kuldeep Yadav from the playing XI has reignited discussions, especially after Joe Root’s historic century in the fourth Test. Root surpassed Ricky Ponting to move into second place on the list of all-time Test run-scorers, sitting on 13,409 runs, second only to Sachin Tendulkar’s 15,921.

 

Despite Kuldeep having a proven edge over Root in white-ball formats, he dismissed the England batter twice in three deliveries during games in Manchester and Lord’s in 2018, the left-arm wrist spinner has not featured in the series. In both encounters, Root was left baffled by Kuldeep’s variations.

 

There is a growing belief that head coach Gautam Gambhir may have leaned towards picking bowlers who offer batting depth, particularly after India’s collapse at Headingley where they lost seven wickets for just 41 runs after being comfortably placed at 430/3. 

 

Kuldeep’s exclusion a missed opportunity? 

"He should have had him in the team. He is the captain. People are going to talk about him and his captaincy out there. So, it's got to be his call really."

 

The former India captain also hinted at behind-the-scenes friction being masked to maintain a positive public image.

"I know that for the sake of showing everything is honky dory, these things might not come out. Fact is that the captain is responsible. He is the one who is going to be leading the XI players. Simple as that."

 

Reflecting on his own era, Gavaskar explained how team decisions were entirely at the captain’s discretion, with minimal input from coaches, because back then, there were none.

"We didn't have coaches. We just had former players as managers or assistant managers of the team. They were the kind of people who you went up to and talked to, they gave you some advice at lunchtime or at the end of the day's play or on the eve of the game." 

"So, it is difficult for me to get my head around the captain and the coach's combination. When I was captain, we had nobody who was a former player," he added.

 

India’s selection strategy in the current series has leaned on seam-bowling all-rounders. Shardul Thakur played in the first and fourth Tests, while Nitish Kumar Reddy was picked for the second and third. However, neither made a major impact with the ball.

 

Thakur bowled only 27 overs across three innings, claiming two wickets. At Headingley, he bowled just six overs in the first innings and 10 in the second. Reddy sent down 28 overs across his two matches, also taking two wickets. With the bat, Thakur managed scores of 1, 4, and 41, while Reddy scored 1, 1, 30, and 13.

 

India's lack of a reliable wicket-taking spinner like Kuldeep Yadav was exposed during England’s massive first-innings total of 669 in the fourth Test. Jasprit Bumrah, despite being the lead pacer, lacked consistent support, while Mohammed Siraj struggled to contain the flow of runs or pick up key wickets.