Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar Differ In Long-Term Captaincy Choices. Report Says India Coach Wants..

Gautam Gambhir, reportedly, could be favouring 19-Test star as India’s Test vice-captain after Rohit Sharma steps down.

As the new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary steps into the shoes vacated by Jay Shah, the hunt for  Rohit Sharma’s long-term captaincy successor has begun. Rohit reportedly came close to hanging his boots in the Test format during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia but was made to change his mind by some ‘well-wishers’. Rohit even claimed in an interview during the Sydney Test that he has no retirement plans at present, but Saturday’s BCCI meeting with chief selector  Ajit Agarkar  and head coach Gautam Gambhir has painted a different picture.

According to a report in Dainik Jagran, there isn’t absolute agreement over  Jasprit Bumrah’s name as India’s next Test captain. When it comes to 5-match Test assignments, Bumrah’s workload does become an issue and the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar series is an example.

Bumrah had to sit out half of the 5th Test in Sydney due to a back issue. If he gets India’s full-time Test captaincy, such issues could prove to be detrimental. While there’s no denying that Bumrah is the best candidate to fill in the void that would be created by Rohit’s exit, the board and selectors also want a solid Plan B for cases where Bumrah isn’t available.

The BCCI and selectors want to groom another strong captaincy candidate, who will be officially named the team’s vice-captain. The player would lead the team in Bumrah’s absence. The two names that have been floated are Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

While Pant has been fully backed by the selectors, the report in Hindi daily has claimed that Gambhir may be favouring Jaiswal for the role. The India head coach, hence, could be standing at the opposite end of the table on the topic, in comparison to the national selectors.

The BCCI, however, isn’t keen to make any changes till the conclusion of the Champions Trophy in order to avoid a negative affect on the team. However, some big alterations are expected to take place after the ICC event.

Former England spinner Monty Panesar has suggested that  Gautam Gambhir should step down as India’s head coach in Test cricket following the team’s disappointing performances in their recent series. Panesar pointed out Gambhir’s underwhelming record in countries like Australia and England, as well as his previous playing history with several current players, as factors contributing to his struggles as a coach. Panesar believes Gambhir would be more suited to coaching India’s white-ball teams.

India’s recent results under Gambhir have been poor, with the team losing back-to-back series against New Zealand (at home) and Australia (away). In fact, India have suffered six losses in their last eight Test matches, despite a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh, a team with a much lower ranking. Panesar, in an interview with The Times of India, agreed that India might benefit from having separate coaches for their red-ball and white-ball team

“I believe that’s a solid suggestion. The workload might be too demanding for Gambhir at this point, especially since he’s still relatively new to coaching. For some of the senior players, it might be challenging to adjust, as they may think, ‘I played alongside him not long ago, and now he’s directing us on how to approach the game.’ That shift can be tough for both sides.”

With Thanks and Reference to: https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/gautam-gambhir-ajit-agarkar-differ-in-long-term-captaincy-choices-report-says-india-coach-wants-7462561 And https://crictoday.com/cricket/daily-cricket-news/gautam-gambhir-should-step-down-as-head-coach-in-test-cricket-ex-player-suggests-a-new-name-for-the-post/