Gautam Gambhir suggests players who are good enough to play should play all the formats. Gambhir doesn't believe in Injury Management.
India cricket is moving into the Gautam Gambhir era, where the former opener is taking over the role of head coach after the exit of Rahul Dravid. Gambhir has mentioned that he believes if players are “good enough," they should be playing all three formats. He said he does not believe in choosing players based on a particular format. Gambhir also mentioned that he does not believe in injury management, stating, “You get injured, you go get recovered.”
But does having players play all three formats make sense in today’s dynamic cricket scene, where the calendar is chock-a-block with bilateral series, ICC tournaments, and IPL?
Having cricketers play all three formats is a risk
There are only a handful of India cricketers who are “good enough” to play all three formats, but still making them play all the time in all three different versions could lead to injuries, thereby hurting India’s chances in important tournaments and bilateral series. If a once-in-a-generation bowler like Jasprit Bumrah has to play all three formats all the time rather than choosing to skip the not-so-important ones, it could lead to another injury breakdown that could hurt his career and Indian cricket.
India missed his services dearly in the 2022 World T20 as Bumrah took a year to get fully fit from a back surgery. It would be unwise to risk him again to play a series against Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe in limited-overs rather than keeping him fresh for the upcoming 10 Tests to seal a berth in the final of the World Test Championship. Still, Bumrah could skip a Test series against Bangladesh if needed, as India have good backup pacers, and he could make himself ready for the important five-match Test series against Australia Down Under. Hence, keeping “good enough” players fresh, ready and injury-free for important series is more critical than them playing all the formats for inconsequential matches.
Chances for young players to prove their worth
If top players give their bodies a rest and choose important series, it would open up spaces in the squad, giving young and talented players a chance to prove their worth. This would improve the bench strength, boost healthy competition, and give more experience to the new players. This would also increase the pool of players that India could choose from to ensure they do not have to keep falling back on old and trusted players, even if they are battling with niggles and injuries.
Also, as the cricket calendar is full, there will be occasions when a competition clashes with a bilateral series. India will then have to send two different squads to each, ensuring participation in both. This is only possible if they create a wide pool of players to choose from. It can be done by enabling more opportunities for new and young players while giving experienced cricketers a well-deserved break or rest.
Gambhir may have his own opinion
However, Gambhir could have a few strategies of his own when expressing his opinion on having “good enough” players play all three formats to keep them match-ready all the time and win as many matches as possible. Having himself done this successfully as a player, he would like to enforce this same strategy as the head coach of Team India.
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