Back in 1997, the Indian cricket team went on a 3-match ODI tour to Sri Lanka, with Sachin Tendulkar at the helm. Little did Sachin know that this tour would rob him of his sleep. India performed disastrously in this series as Sri Lanka won it convincingly by 3-0. Later that year, Sachin Tendulkar was removed from the captaincy. However, Sri Lanka was perhaps unaware that this humiliating defeat would spur the Indian team to write a new chapter in history.
Following this series, India began its era of dominance. Over the next 26 years, India and Sri Lanka played 13 ODI series, and India did not lose a single one of them. During these 26 years, the Indian team consistently thrashed the Sri Lankan team in bilateral ODI cricket. Captain Dhoni and players like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, and Virat Kohli shattered records. Rohit Sharma’s world record of 264 runs also came against Sri Lanka in 2014.
However, in 2024, this winning streak came to an end. On August 7, 2024, the Indian team lost the ODI series by 2-0 on Sri Lankan soil. This marked the first time in the 21st century that India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka. The blame for this defeat is being placed on the newly appointed head coach, Gautam Gambhir.
Does Gautam Gambhir have a mindset like Greg Chappell?
Gambhir’s coaching career began on a positive note with a 3-0 T20I series win, but his strategies do not seem to be working in ODI cricket. The tricks that made Gambhir a hero in T20 cricket are failing in the ODI format. Gambhir is expecting something different from the players—batsmen are bowling in death overs, and the batting order is being completely changed.
These are similar tactics to those employed by Greg Chappell when he was appointed head coach of the Indian team in 2005. Chappell used players according to his methods, which impacted their performance. Sourav Ganguly was particularly unhappy with this approach, and during this period, Ganguly was removed from the captaincy.
This led to a rift between the players and management. It was largely due to Greg Chappell’s authoritarian approach that India crashed out of the 2007 World Cup, losing to a weaker team like Bangladesh in the group stage. The BCCI then told Greg Chappell that enough was enough, and it was time for him to step down.
Coach Gambhir was welcomed with great hype in the Indian team, but his coaching techniques might make him the next Greg Chappell. Joginder Sharma, who bowled the final over in the 2007 T20 World Cup, also fears this.
ALSO READ: Sri Lanka achieves ‘Historic’ 1st bilateral ODI series win against India in the 21st century
Joginder says, “I don’t think Gambhir will remain India’s coach for long because he wants to run the team according to his own methods.” Joginder believes that during Gambhir’s tenure, a conflict might occur between him and an Indian player. Gautam Gambhir’s career as a head coach has just begun. Time will tell whether he will be remembered as a villain like Greg Chappell or etch his name in history like Gary Kirsten.