Former India cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra believes that head coach Gautam Gambhir was just explaining the reality while addressing the lack of support for ODI captain Shubman Gill in terms of team strength in recent times. However, he has had a tricky year as captain, losing three series so far, but has had to go through multiple injury crises as well.
“It’s not fair on a young captain as well if he doesn’t get the best team playing consistently and regularly and not being on par consistently, if I have to be dead honest. Yes, I can, as a coach, I can take all the criticism, but for me, I think it is important for Shubman to get the best playing at 11 as many times as he can in red ball and in white ball format to few more formats as well,” Gambhir said after the 3-0 series win over Afghanistan.
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“He’s (Gambhir) not wrong, the story has now become such that you cannot get the entire team available. Sometimes someone gets injured, sometimes someone is unavailable, and sometimes it is workload management. I don’t think he is hinting at anyone or anything. To get a fully prepared and available team for all formats is becoming impossible,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra also added that the injuries and unavailability affect Team India’s preparation and performances, especially in overseas assignments. In Team India’s recent red-ball tour of Sri Lanka, captain Shubman Gill didn’t have the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar, as they all were all ruled out due to injuries at the last minute.
“You don’t get the full opportunity to prepare. It has also been discussed that if you are going to play in SENA countries, do you have enough time to prepare? That preparation is very important. You should prepare well and then try to play with your best full-strength side. So Shubman Gill sometimes feels hard done by. He must be feeling, ‘I am playing, but I don’t have my main bowlers’. If you look at the team for the West Indies ODIs, it is not a full-strength team,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
