India's 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign. she suffered another hit as the team struggled to recover from a poor result in the ongoing third Test match against Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma's decision to bowl first cost him, with Australia making a mammoth 445 runs in their first innings, leaving the tourists stranded in the Gabba Test.
Reacting to India's poor performance in Australia, former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali added fuel to the fire, hinting at a potential rift between captain Rohit Sharma and the head coach Gautam Gambhir amid their poor performance in Brisbane.
Basit Ali hints at rift between Rohit and Gambhir amid India's dismal performance in Brisbane
Speculations of a rift in the Indian cricket team's dressing room have grown louder after India's humiliating whitewash by New Zealand at home seriesand now their inconsistent performances at BGT 2024-25 have only added fuel to the fire.
Meanwhile, Basit Ali suggested that the two leaders, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, may not be on the same page as the former KKR mentor took over as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, succeeding the former World Cup-winning coach of the year Rahul Dravid.
Indian bowlers, except jasprit bumrahfailed to put pressure on the Australian batsmen or even control the flow of runs as Travis Head and Steve Smith built a match-defining 241-run partnership to put the hosts in a strong position in the ongoing crucial third Test in Brisbane.
Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir not on the same page: Basit Ali
Bumrah's six-wicket haul brought some relief, but the damage had already been done by Smith and Head—both of whom were battling for centuries in the ongoing Gabba Test against Australia.
Adding to the woes of the Indian team, the Australian pacers then dealt a crushing blow, reducing India to 48/4 in their first innings, further exposing cracks in the team's strategy and execution.
Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel, “Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir are not on the same page, be it the one-day tournament in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, which was a poor series, or the New Zealand series after that. In the second and third (Tests), they (Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir) are not on the same side, as Rahul Dravid was. He and Rohit were on the same page.”
Basit Ali questions the exclusion of Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin from the Gabba Test
With pressure mounting and questions about unity among the leaders, India face an uphill battle in the 20242-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. And the former Pakistan cricketer pointed out that the absence of Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin exposed the rift between Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir in the tour of Australia.
He also pointed out that the Australian tour has featured different spinners so far. Basit also pointed out how India's strategy changed in Brisbane, where they opted to bowl first after winning the toss, despite history showing that batting first would always be of great help at The Gabba.
Basit added: “I can explain it very easily. A different spinner played in all three Test matches. In the two Test matches they batted after winning the toss but chose to bowl here. There are three left-handers in the Australian batting. So why not (Washington) Sundar and why not (Ravichandran) Ashwin? Anyone who understands cricket will certainly be talking about it.”
He signed off by saying, “India does not have a left-arm fast bowler in its team. That's the weak link. We have seen Mir Hamza or Shaheen Shah Afridi portray Head because it is a different angle. That's why, if you see, Bumrah throws himself round the neck to Head."
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