MISSING: 'Determined' Gautam Gambhir - A cricketer lost somewhere in the woods

Gautam Gambhir walks back dejected after scoring 4 in his comeback innings at Old Trafford against England

Name: Gautam Gambhir

Age: 32.

Identification and qualities: A left-handed Indian batsman with a determined innings building technique.

Missing since: last 3 seasons.

Description: The Delhi opener was once a go-to man for India. He responded every time when the stakes were high and delivered on most occasions when India needed a strong contribution at the top. He was the first one to put his hand up whenever India found themselves in a pressure situation. He has scripted some memorable victories for Team India across all formats of the game.

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7^th August 2014: India opened with someone with the same name at Old Trafford in fourth Test of the series against England. The player fizzled out, battled for survival and showed plenty of uneasiness during his 7-ball stay at the crease.

It was hard to believe that this was the same batsman who shouldered India’s chase in the 2011 World Cup final.

Insecure as an opener

It’s not my intention to take a hit at an easy target here and I’m not pointing fingers at Gambhir for the no-show of Indian batsmen on the fastest pitch of this English summer. It is indeed a difficult period for a player, particularly a batsman making a comeback after more than 2 years. Not timing the ball and even getting out on a duck are lesser evils than revealing your insecurity in dealing with the situation, which is what Gambhir did.

Maybe the selection issues, the form factor, the pitch, the tight line and length from the bowlers, a simple play-and-a-miss, a taunt from the audience, and a lot of other factors can generate that feeling in a batsman. And it is completely understandable to fall for them.

But, I repeat – a batsman on any occasion, should not be advertising his fear. But sadly that is exactly what Gambhir did. He looked shaky, showed plenty of stiffness in his feet movement, was not completely in control of the swing, and most importantly, sported a body language that almost hinted relief after getting dismissed.

Lost Qualities

It was disheartening to see the 32-year-old devoid of all the qualities which defined his batsmanship at its peak. One of the more talented openers India has unearthered, the man with 55 Test caps has always been a confident leaver of the ball. Ever since Shikhar Dhawan’s possible axing came up in the news, there were talks of Gambhir being slotted in, along with some worrying news. Gambhir was said to have struggled against India’s very own pacers in the net sessions ahead of the all-important game.

A team can never go back to a player simply because of lack of options. India have done exactly that. Gambhir hardly looked like the man who scored 8 Test centuries in space of 10 Tests between 2008-2010. It is not about the results, but the feeling of belonging at that level which he lacked on the first morning.

Ever since his brain started frequently convincing his arms to ‘chase’ a wide ball for a highly risky single to third man, over the ‘leave’ command courtesy the tightly packed and highly demanding calender and the shorter format, the batsman was all but lost. He is now nowhere near the cricketer he once was: confident and determined at the top, the qualities which he had in abundance.

Gautam Gambhir during his marathon innings v New Zealand at Napier, 2009.

Future

Another couple of failures in this series will all but end a remarkable career which once was travelling head-to-head with the greats of the game. In case Gambhir doesn’t manage a substantial knock in his next three possible innings, he’ll fail to convince the selectors to pick him for the next assignment. (He never had anything before the current series either).

But, as an ardent cricket fan, and considering the lack of international quality in the wings, let us hope that he discovers some fight like his comeback in this year’s IPL.

The World cup winner has brought plenty of laurels to the nation. My best memory of Gambhir will be the gutsy, hard working and confident innings of 137 in Napier against New Zealand in 2009 – the one that came after India followed on.

An adventerous and fighting exhibition of batting streching over four and a half-sessions in the second innings, helping India secure a draw will go hand in hand with his World Cup final knocks at 2007 World T20 & World Cup 2011, as the best of Gambhir.

Shikhar Dhawan is now the only hope for the future, that appears rather bleak, unless he sorts out his problems outside the off-stump. To be fair, he deserves a second chance for his exploits in New Zealand. If he fails again, we might see the likes of Unmukt Chand and Jiwanjot Singh in whites much sooner than expected.