'Gambhir, What You Doing Isn't Right'

'You are creating insecurity, which, at some stage, will come back and hurt you.'

Uncertainty seems to be the only constant in India's white ball cricket approach under Coach Gautam Gambhir.

This unconventional strategy, which involves frequent batting order shuffles and unpredictable player roles, has drawn sharp criticism from Zaheer Khan and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who fear it could backfire on the team in crucial matches.

Zaheer Khan, India's highest wicket-taker in the 2011 ODI World Cup, highlighted concerns about the 'insecurity' such frequent changes could create among players.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Zaheer said, 'You've said that you've got to have the flexibility. Number one and two will be there, but the others are going to be flexible. Within that flexibility, some rules also apply. There are certain protocols you have to follow. Certain communication needs to happen, which is gonna streamline things.

'Otherwise, you are creating insecurity, which, at some stage, will come back and hurt you.'

Zaheer emphasised the importance of clear communication between the coach, captain, selectors, and players for such an approach to function smoothly.

'The situation has become dynamic if you have to compare Rahul Dravid's approach and Gautam Gambhir's approach,' Zaheer added.

'Each individual is a part of this system -- be it the senior management, the think-tank, the players, or the selectors. They will have to gauge it, and the entire system needs to be streamlined for the wheel to turn properly.'

Krishnamachari Srikkanth criticised Gambhir's handling of K L Rahul in the ongoing ODI series against England. Rahul, one of India's most dependable batters in the 2023 ODI World Cup, was pushed down the batting order to accommodate bowling all-rounder Axar Patel at No. 5.

'Shreyas Iyer is in good form, which is a positive for India. But I feel for K L Rahul -- it's very unfortunate. Yes, Axar Patel is scoring 30s and 40s, but what they are doing with K L Rahul is not fair,' Srikkanth asserted.

'Look at his record -- he has excelled at No. 5, with a brilliant record. I don't know what the team management is thinking regarding his position. If he bats at No. 6 or 7, he ends up scoring 6 or 7. It's unfair," Srikkanth exclaimed.

Srikkanth also lambasted the team's fixation on maintaining a left-right combination in the middle order while seemingly disregarding the top-order balance.

'Hey, Gambhir, what you are doing is not right,' he said.

'Yes, depending on the situation, India can send Axar at No. 5, but it cannot be a consistent strategy. If you keep making such changes, you know what will happen -- there will be a crucial match where everything falls apart. That's what worries me.

'You can't justify it by talking about the left-right combination. Does that mean you don't care about a left-right combination in the top four? Why does it only matter at No. 5?'