For a man of such talent and reputation, it is a rather disappointing way to end the year that he would remember for his wedding, apart from his World Cup final heroics.
Gautam Gambhir is not someone who would be alright with this sort of a thought. Known as a man of few words, he is already said to have gone into a shell. If he is going to get out of it, it would spell a new leaf in his career and possibly for India as well.
Much as it boasts of an experienced batting line-up with the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, India’s ascent to the Test summit was also founded on the opening partnerships between Virender Sehwag and Gambhir. And it appears like the southpaw is unwillingly contributing his bit to the team’s downward spiral.
MS Dhoni may not be overtly worried about his opening batsman’s long-running bad patch but he could be considering his options quietly. Maybe the celebrated skipper would like to see Gambhir through this series, though it could be a big gamble.
Gambhir last scored a century 17 Tests ago and that too against Bangladesh and has averaged 32.75 and 31.33 in the last two years. India, in the recent times, have been humiliated by England and their reputation has taken a further hiding in Melbourne this week.
It is no co-incidence that Gambhir, who first established himself with a one-day century — at Gabba in Brisbane — four years ago, finds himself on the very shores hoping to make a fresh start.
He had followed his Gabba knock with a dream-like phase scoring three centuries and amassing 1,134 runs from eight Tests in 2008. If 2008 was the cake for him, the next year was the icing as he slammed four centuries from five Tests and averaged 90.88.
Even his opening partner Sehwag was in awe of him. He said, “Just see how he kept adapting. I can’t think of anyone better than Gambhir in terms of technique, temperament and style. To me, he is the best opener India has had since Gavaskar.”
Sehwag speaks the way he bats, take it or leave it. He may have jumped the gun. But when he said, it did ring a bit true, given the way Gambhir was batting.
The young lad from Delhi saw his good form bring in the rewards too. He drew the highest bidding at the IPL auction with a jaw-dropping Rs 11 crore. He did decently well in the Newlands Test early this year and then won the hearts of a billion with his 97 in the World Cup final.
Gambhir averaged a dismal 17.00 in England. At home, against a less than flattering attack of the West Indies, he averaged only 39.
And in what could be a penultimate nail in his coffin, he scored three and 13 in Melbourne this week that has brought him to a position where he could be batting for his place in Sydney. Difficult to say if Sehwag is reconsidering his words about his Delhi teammate but there could be a few murmurs in the team and among the selectors. For now, Dhoni has drowned these hushed noises by voicing his support to the beleaguered opener.
“Gambhir’s is not a major problem,” Dhoni said after the frying in Melbourne. “He’s batting really well in the nets. He just needs to take the extra step and take the same form into the middle. Once you play 30-40 deliveries as an opener, everything is sorted out.”
So, Gambhir will, in all likelihood, be playing the Sydney Test. And he may try to put in more hours at the nets. Already it is being said that he has a diminished presence during practice and he may begin by putting this kind of talk to rest.
And for inspiration, he can rewind and playback his knock at Gabba four years ago.
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