The T20 World Champions, Team India has been in their prime form, continuing their winning streak in bilateral series since Suryakumar Yadav took over the reins from Rohit Sharma after the T20 World Cup
2024 title win. The Men in Blue recently won the five-match T20I series by 2-1 margin against Australia, avenging the 1-2 ODI series defeat Down Under.
While the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will look to continue their momentum when they next host South Africa in a five-match series next month, it has to be seen if he continues to play Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, both of whom have shown their caliber when it comes to game time. Notably, the decision of head coach Gautam Gambhir to bench Arshdeep Singh in the T20Is garnered criticism knowing that the pacer has been brilliant with the ball.
It’s the toughest conversation for both: Gautam Gambhir on dropping players from XI
However, the pacer was included in the XI in the third T20I, where he picked three wickets followed by 1/22 figures in the fourth T20I. Speaking on BCCI TV, Gambhir finally broke silence on dropping players while calling it the “toughest conversation.” “That is the toughest part for me as a coach, and that is the toughest job I have. Sometimes, when I know there is so much quality sitting on the bench, and I know everyone deserves to be part of the playing XI, but ultimately, you can only pick 11, thinking about what is the best combination to do the job on that particular day,” he began.
Gambhir also emphasised on the importance of having a clear conversation, saying, “But for me, the most important thing is the conversation and the communication as well. The communication needs to be very clear, very honest. Sometimes, obviously, those are tough conversations to have. If you tell someone that he is not playing, it is probably the toughest conversation for both the coach and the player, because I know the player would be upset when he deserves to be part of the playing XI.”
As the Men in Blue now set their eyes on the next assignment, they will look to dominate across departments and formats, especially in T20Is seeing the T20 World Cup 2026 in just a few months’ time.
