NEW DELHI: Former Indian middle-order batter Ajay Jadeja came to the defence of head coach Gautam Gambhir, stating that the criticism directed at him following the 0-3 defeat against New Zealand was premature and unjustified, considering his brief tenure in the position.
The 2011 World Cup champion, Gambhir, assumed leadership of the Indian cricket team in July, succeeding Rahul Dravid. His appointment initially showed promise with success in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Despite the subsequent ODI series loss to Sri Lanka and a comprehensive 2-0 Test victory over Bangladesh, it was the recent poor performance against New Zealand that brought Gambhir’s leadership under intense examination.
Jadeja believes this scrutiny is unwarranted given the limited time Gambhir has had to implement his strategies.
“I think you are being unfair to him… If you will start judging people on the basis of their coaching role or whatever way it is being looked at, it is too short a time to for people to be judged,” Jadeja told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of FICCI Turf event on Saturday..
“If you are not convinced that he is good, then one performance here or there will be able to convince anyone. I don’t think it is the time to judge him, it is the time we should enjoy him,” added Jadeja, known for his exploits in the 50-over game where he scored over 5000 runs in 196 ODIs.
Following India’s commanding 295-run victory over Australia in the opening Border-Gavaskar Test at Perth, which came after their disappointing performance against New Zealand, the team’s confidence has significantly improved.
In light of this, Jadeja expressed that it would be premature to evaluate Gambhir’s leadership within just six months of him taking charge.
“So, there are phases and it will come, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. So, I won’t go into that direction and start judging him (Gambhir) in six months.
“You knew what you were asking for and what you were getting. He is a very clear-cut person and he has made it clear throughout his life. So, what your are seeing now is what everyone expected of him to do.”
Jadeja mentioned that the return of regular Test skipper Rohit Sharma for the second Test in Adelaide, starting December 6, after missing the opening match, will significantly boost India’s confidence.
“Him (Rohit Sharma) coming back to the team will surely boost India’s confidence, for sure. He is a leader, when the chips were down, team was going down, he stood up there as the leader and now when the team is going up, he will be again there as the leader.”
Asked whether KL Rahul and Rohit should swap batting slots in the second Test after the former had a formidable outing in the Perth game, Jadeja said, “I have no details of what the team is thinking right now, no views on who should bat at what number. Rohit Sharma has always been an asset to the side wherever he bats.”
Opening the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul scored 77 in the second innings at Perth, helping India set an imposing target of 534 runs. Some experts believe Rahul should continue as an opener in the Adelaide Test, with Rohit batting at one-down.
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