The Gambhir Problem!

India’s progress in all the formats of the game over the last 5 years or so has a few major stakeholders who are spoken of very often – Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, M.S. Dhoni, Zaheer Khanand 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 Rahul Dravid. The parallels don’t end here, just like many of Dravid’s knocks had overshadowing moments, Gautam 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 a 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 and South Africa while others who rely on having the heavyweights at the top. India has a strong and 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 and spin with equal comfort and invariably is India’s big tournament player. The 2007 T20 World Cup, 2008 CB Series, 2011 50-over World Cup and his recent his knock in the run-chase at Hobart is testament to it. In the last 5 years or so (since 1 September 2007), Gambhir has been India’s leading run-scorer (ODI and T20 combined) in multinational tournaments. Is the converse true as well? 2009 and 2010 T20 World Cups and 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 come to a premature end. 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 and 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 batsmen 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 case with a mental block as well.

The talk around India’s batting recently has centered on Virat’s sublime form, the over-reliance on him and the lack of form the 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. 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 overs from him!