Gautam Gambhir Finally Explains Why Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh Keep Getting Dropped – Cricket.com

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has faced consistent criticism for his preference for all-rounders over specialist bowlers across formats – a trend that has seen players like Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh spend more time on the bench than many fans and experts feel they should.
Kuldeep, for instance, didn’t feature in a single Test during India’s recent tour of England and played just three of eight white-ball games in Australia. The left-arm wristspinner was even released from the T20I squad after only two appearances.
Similarly, left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh, India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, didn’t get a chance in the first two T20Is against Australia. Instead, the management picked Harshit Rana for some batting depth – a move that backfired. Once Arshdeep returned to the XI, India won two of the remaining three matches, with one abandoned due to rain.
Addressing the criticism around his team selections, Gambhir admitted that leaving deserving players out is the most difficult part of his role. “I think that’s the toughest part for me as a coach. That’s the toughest job I have, that sometimes when I know that there is so much of quality sitting on the bench and I know everyone deserves to be part of the playing XI but ultimately, you can only pick XI thinking which is the best combination to do the job on that particular day," he said in a video posted by the BCCI.
“Communication needs to be very clear, very honest. Sometimes, obviously, those are hard conversations to have if you tell someone that he is not playing, it is the toughest conversation for a coach and the player. I know that the player would get upset when he deserves to be part of the playing XI. But if you are honest and straightforward and you know that what you are saying is from the heart and nothing beyond that, some players do understand that.
“It’s a communication between a player and a coach and I think it should stay till there only, rather than people making a lot of hue and cry and expounding a lot of different theories about it. That is something which I think this group and support staff has done brilliantly. It has been a very transparent dressing room, a very honest dressing room and that is what we want.”
Gambhir also opened up about his fluid batting-order philosophy, saying he believes rigid hierarchies in T20 cricket are outdated. “Look, that has been the ideology from day one when I took over as the head coach from Sri Lanka. Till now, it hasn’t changed. I think batting orders are very overrated, except the openers. Obviously, the two openers are permanent, the rest I think everything shuffles because it’s not the amount of runs that matter in T20 cricket, it’s the impact that matters.
“People sometimes miscalculate or do not differentiate between the batting order, the runs, and the impact. See, runs are different and impact is different. In T20 cricket, it’s all about the impact. It’s 120 balls. Every ball is an event. Every ball needs to have the maximum impact that we can have.
“That’s the reason from day one it has been a very fluid batting order, and that is how we want to play this game as well. We don’t want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates, and all that stuff. We’re thinking about how much impact a person can create in what situation. That is going to be very important for this T20 side because with time, T20 cricket will evolve, and if we as coaches don’t evolve, obviously, we will be behind the 8-ball. We want to be ahead of T20 cricket, ahead of the times.”
Another key tactical change under Gambhir’s management has been Jasprit Bumrah’s extended role in the powerplay, with the pacer now frequently bowling three overs up front – a reflection of India’s new all-round aggressive approach.
“A lot of people associate this T20 team with aggressive batting. But I think using Jassi for three overs upfront was an even more aggressive option with the ball. We don’t want to be known only for our aggressive batting order. We want to be recognized as an aggressive side overall… We wanted to test that approach and see where it takes us.”
India will now turn their focus to the two-match Test series against South Africa, starting November 14, followed by three ODIs and five T20Is.
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