Gambhir Samasya!

India’s progress in all the formats over the last 5 years or so has a few major stakeholders who are spoken of very often - Sehwag, Virat, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Zaheer and a few others. Amidst that group is an individual who doesn’t quite generate flamboyance nor does he appear lazy in his outlook, but goes about his business his own way; ever so like the legendary Dravid. The parallels don’t end here, just like many of Dravid’s knocks had overshadowing moments, Gambhir’s match-winning knocks don’t quite generate the applause and critic review that they deserve. Instead when he is struggling for runs or getting out early, statisticians are out there to stack numbers against him, experts find fault with his mental preparedness and others point flaws in his movements.

T20 cricket is said to be the format for the all-rounders, yet digging down the stats a bit you would probably discover you need openers in good nick, quickies hitting their straps rather than your no. 6 & no. 7 in form or the part-timers getting their overs in decently. There are certain teams who have a policy of keeping their best in the middle order, such as Pakistan & South Africa, and others who rely on the top heavy thought. India has a strong & a comprehensive batting line-up but often the end result is a by-product of how the top 3 fare; and recent history (last 5 years or so) is a testimony to that fact.

Sehwag is the impact opener for India but Gambhir is the pivotal man at the top who has this uncanny ability to tackle seam & spin with equal comfort and invariably is India’s big tournament player. 2007 T20 World Cup, 2008 CB Series, 2011 50-over World Cup and recently his knock in the run-chase at Hobart. In the last 5 years or so (since 1 September 2007), Gambhir has been India’s leading run-scorer (ODI & T20I combined) in multinational tournaments. Is the converse true as well? 2009 & 2010 T20 World Cups, Asia Cup 2012 advocate for India’s results being proportional to Gambhir’s performances.

The team management would be wary of the fact that Gambhir has to click sooner or this campaign could receive a pre-mature break. His second best score in the last 6 T20I innings is 17; his last fifty came 8 innings ago and has managed to face only 74 deliveries in his last 6 outings; these stats are pretty much self-explanatory. It is not that he is going through a lean patch for a long period (he scored 65, 102 & 88 in the latest ODI series versus Sri Lanka) but somehow isn’t able to cash-in on the momentum and is struggling to sustain form.

Gambhir is of the conventional mode which would require him to spend time in the middle to rediscover his off-stump and the sweet spot of his bat but T20 cricket demands a batsman to score more than a-run-a-ball. Both objectives are very hard to achieve simultaneously but quality players find a way to overcome that! Gambhir’s woes have been compounded with his partner struggling for form as well and not many beyond the number 3 batsman in good nick. This could be just a coincidence or greater than that but somehow Gambhir has found T20 batting difficult in Sri Lankan conditions with an average of 15.16 in 6 innings. Certain players enjoy certain venues/conditions and so is the mental block associated with the opposite case.

The talk around India’s batting recently has centered on Virat’s sublime form, the over -reliance on him and the lack of form likes of Sehwag are going through. Gambhir isn’t in the focus on either side, yet it wouldn’t be a great idea to discount the role of Gambhir in India’s scheme of things. In the last two games he hasn’t had a chance to play the long innings, a run-out and a first over dismissal, but for India’s sake he needs to get his act together. Gambhir has been India’s highest run-scorer in both the World Cup finals that India has been a part of in the last 5 years, and thus if India is looking forward to make it to another World Cup final, it is imperative Gambhir discovers some form, even if that requires others making up for some quiet over’s from him!