Former Indian opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has accused Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir of not discarding Shreyas Iyer, as he prefers personal favourite players in the squad. He also discredited India’s Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy draw, claiming overseas domination started in the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era.
After the backlash, which initially focused on the BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, it has shifted towards Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir over the unreasonable snub of Shreyas Iyer’s non-selection for the Asia Cup. Former Indian opener has come in to slam the Indian coach further.
Shreyas Iyer was snubbed despite having a phenomenal run in the IPL with the Punjab Kings, where he had the best of his seasons with 604 runs in 17 games at a strike rate of 174, which was already backed by the 300+ run Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season, striking at 188, an attribute that fits with India’s recent attacking model of T20I cricket.
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“He backs the players he likes but completely lets go of those he doesn’t,” Indian openers’ massive claim on Gautam Gambhir
The former Indian opener Ramesh has accused Gautam Gambhir of personal favouritism in the selection process for the Indian side. He urged that Gambhir only include players whom he likes in the squad, leaving out the rest, and that good form be no more a criterion for selection.
“He backs the players he likes but completely lets go of those he doesn’t,” Ramesh said.
The Gautam Gambhir-led T20I side has not given a comeback opportunity to any of the Indian players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and even Mohammed Siraj.
While Jaiswal was the preferred third opener in the squad for the T20 World Cup, Iyer has 1000+ runs in international T20I cricket, and Ruturaj Gaikwad has a T20I hundred for India.
India’s 2-2 draw against England was hailed due to a ‘false narrative.’
Speaking through his YouTube channel, Ramesh claimed that a ‘false narrative’ has been issued around the 2-2 draw of India against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. While it was hailed as a huge achievement for the Indian team and the new skipper, Shubman Gill.
The former cricketer claimed that it was only due to India’s continuous failure under Gautam Gambhir’s reign in red-ball cricket that this moment was marked with so much glory, while actually, Test domination in overseas conditions had begun since the Kohli-Shastri era for India.
“Winning consistently abroad had started long back under Kohli and Shastri. But now, just the drawn series in England is being projected as a big achievement in Gambhir’s track record.”
Jaiswal deemed the X-factor; Shreyas’ dominance in the UAE was taken under consideration while blaming Gambhir for the recent mess
Ramesh next picked the ICC Champions Trophy, the biggest of Gautam Gambhir’s achievements as a National head coach, which came within just 6 months of his appointment. He pointed out that it was Shreyas Iyer who deserves massive credit for the triumph with his 243 runs for India in the series.
“Gambhir’s biggest achievement remains the Champions Trophy triumph, and Iyer was the biggest reason for that success. Yet, Gambhir is not backing him. Someone like Jaiswal, who is an X-factor player, must play all formats. Keeping him in standby is a poor move,” Ramesh added.
He further stressed, “Shreyas Iyer produced incredible performances in the same UAE during the Champions Trophy and should be a permanent fixture in India’s white-ball teams.”
“Players must be backed when they are high on confidence and in form, not when they fade away. This is the ideal time to reap the rewards of Iyer’s sky-high confidence.”
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