Purely on current form, Gambhir, who was flown in as replacement for Rahul, is likely to get the nod ahead of Dhawan
The big dilemma in the mind of every cricket lover in the country ever since the selectors named Gautam Gambhir as the replacement for KL Rahul is: Will Gambhir straightaway be drafted into the team for the second Test starting here on Friday?
If he does, the southpaw will play after missing out on India's last 17 since August 2014. On the face of it, Gambhir is more likely to get the nod ahead of Shikhar Dhawan, who is already in the original squad of 15 for the series but did not find a place in the 11 for the first Test last week.
How else can one explain the selectors going in for a seasoned opener and not any other young opener from the recent India 'A' tour of Australia or other upcoming ones? It may have been accepted for a youngsters to warm the bench, but to pick a 56-Test veteran and not play him is difficult to fathom.
Gambhir's reactions late on Tuesday night on Twitter were child-like, bubbling with enthusiasm. "Excitement of a debutant, certainty of experienced, nervousness of a novice...am feeling it all. Eden here I come loaded with ambitions," he tweeted first.
"Nothing beats playing again for d country. Test cricket, whites, red ball and India cap again. Thanks @BCCI, thanks 2 all for d prayers," followed another tweet.
Gambhir's selection is not without the backing of numbers. The Delhi batsman has bagful of runs – 77, 90, 59, 94, 36 – in his last five first-class innings and also an average of 49.375 (1580 runs in 34 innings) in first-class cricket since he last played for India in 2014.
Thus, it won't be far-fetched off assume that he will get to play ahead of his Ranji state-mate and the low-on-confidence Dhawan.
Dhawan has only himself to blame for the position that he is in today. Knowing well about the competition for places in the squad, he needed to score in humungous proportions to get back to the playing 11. With returns of 27, 1 and 26 in his last two Tests, only one half-century (84) and a pair in his last 12 innings, some consider Dhawan to be lucky in the squad itself.
However, Dhawan had a lengthy net session on Wednesday, two days prior to the start of the second Test at the Eden Gardens here. Gambhir did not turn up but has checked into the city. One would expect Gambhir to have a net session straightaway, especially when he has been named as a replacement just the day before. But perhaps, the team management thought that he has enough runs to back him with only one rigorous session on Thursday before deciding on the playing 11.
"I think it's really nice to have Gautam back," India's chief coach Anil Kumble said on Wednesday. "Unfortunately, Rahul got injured in the last Test match. I think for some reason, something has been happening with the openers. Vijay got injured in the West Indies. Now Rahul. It's unfortunate because Rahul was batting brilliantly.
"Having said that, Gautam has done really well in domestic cricket. He's part of the 15. I don't want to give away anything with regards to team combinations. All 15 are available for selection. So, it's nice to have him back," the chief coach added.
Kumble chose to keep his cards close to his chest. But there's one message that the Indian team has sent loud and clear: None can take his place for granted, and there is hope for anyone if he has the runs and wickets to back him.
QUOTE
Excitement of a debutant, certainty of experienced, nervousness of a novice...am feeling it all. Eden here I come loaded with ambitions
--Gautam Gambhir's tweet late on Tuesday night
BOX
DHAWAN SWEATS IT OUT, NOT GAUTI
Gautam Gambhir, who landed in the city on Wednesday, chose to skip India's optional net session two days prior to the Test, while Shikhar Dhawan was seen sweating it out with the bat for a long time. He was among the seven players who turned up for the optional nets – others being captain Virat Kohli, deputy Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Amit Mishra and new-comer Jayant Yadav. Those who did not turn up were R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Md Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
BOX
GAMBHIR IN LAST 5 INNINGS
for India Blue
77
90
59
94
36
DHAWAN IN LAST 5 INNINGS
for India
27
1
26
for India Red
29
29
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}