BCCI conduct probing 6-hour review with Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Agarkar to discuss Team India's whitewash loss - Reports
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly wasted no time in getting to the bottom of Team India's worst home series defeat in history. The governing body recently conducted a comprehensive performance review of Rohit Sharma and company's set of displays against New Zealand that led to a 0-3 whitewash.
Senior officials like BCCI secretary Jay Shah and BCCI president Roger Binny headlined the affairs. The likes of captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were on the receiving end.
According to a report by PTI, the primary concerns raised were the employment of rank turners for the latter part of the series, a ploy that ended up backfiring in a huge manner. Questions were also raised regarding Gambhir's style of coaching, which is apparently quite different from that of his predecessor, Rahul Dravid.
"It was a six-hour marathon meeting which was obviously on cards after such a debacle. India are going on a tour of Australia and the BCCI would obviously like to ensure that the team is back on track and would like to know how the think-tank are going about it," a senior BCCI source privy to development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Additionally, the decision to rest Bumrah from the series finale when the match was crucial for the World Test Championship (WTC) was brought up over the course of the meeting.
"Bumrah's absence was discussed, although it was a precautionary move. Opting for a rank turner despite India not faring well on these tracks are some of the issues that came up for discussion," the source informed.
The trio handling the state of affairs in the first team were asked to come up with solutions to the problems at hand.
Friction within the Indian think tank over Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana's selection - Reports
The report also suggests that not everyone in the think tank are on the same page as Gautam Gambhir. The newly appointed head coach has witnessed a rough start to his tenure, with a ODI series loss against Sri Lanka and a home whitewash against New Zealand.
Gambhir's heavy influence when it comes to selection was evident when the squad for the Border-Gavaskar series was unveiled. It later came to light that the head coach had a say in the matter during the selection meeting.
There is reportedly unrest regarding the inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana in the main squad. The two youngsters are yet to play red-ball cricket for India, and the decision to name them in the touring party was apparently not unanimous.