Whats happened to our Gauti!!!

Gautam Gambir who won KKR the first IPL trophy under his captaincy also played a wonderful inning in world cup final to help india win. But after thay he never looked liked in his past form touch. His averages got down and finally he is out the team for the first two matches of Australia tour which will begin from 22th feb. Lets we try try to find out what happen to our Gauti..Why his performance got down..

It's been difficult to understand what faze Gambhir is going through right now. It took the classy left-hander ages to cement his place in the Indian team, and once he had done it, he looked good enough to be there forever. He formed a lethal opening combo with Virender Sehwag. agressvive man is known for his classy shots on the on-side.

Gambhir is called the best Opener in the world who can perform in all condition and even in all the formats of the game. His pair with Sehwag is also counted as the most destructive pair in the world cricket.

Who can forget Gambhir's 93 against South Africa at Cape Town (with a swollen arm) in 2011, the match-saving 137 against New Zealand at Napier in 2009, or the double hundred against the Aussies at Kotla in 2008? Why, he was even labelled as India's captain-in-waiting.

Then, bad habits crept in and the bad times arrived. Runs dried up and it led to his eventual ouster. Despite managing 251 runs in four Tests against England @41.83 at home, Gambhir has been dropped for the first two Tests against Australia. Was he made the scapegoat for the Test losses against England and the ODI reversals against Pakistan (he scored 34 runs in three games)?

He hasn't scored a Test hundred in more than three years now. In recent times, he has repeatedly got out caught behind or in the slips. What is wrong with Gambhir?

"He is transferring his weight too early on the backfoot, which is why he is edging the ball behind while trying to cut. When you meet the ball, your weight should be on the front foot, but in his case it is entirely on the backfoot. When I coached Delhi (back in 2007-08), I corrected that. Also, you aren't an opener if you don't leave the ball. He doesn't do that enough," says former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar.

Gambhir's coach Sanjay Bhardwaj feels his ward has got a raw deal. "He scored runs against England (scores of 65, 60, 40 & 37). I don't think anyone in India has been dropped after such a performance. It's just that the hundreds haven't come," he says. He makes another pertinent point when he adds, "They should have at least played him in the Irani Cup."

Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, who chaired the selection panel which recalled Gambhir and triggered his 'golden streak,' says: "Every player goes through such periods. He will have to work hard, play more matches and spend time in the middle. He is a proven player. One or two good knocks will help him get his confidence back." 

Ex-India opener Aakash Chopra, who has opened with Gambhir in domestic cricket blames instant cricket for his woes. "His problem has much to do with overexposure to T20 and ODIs. Our players are playing so much of it that they forget how to construct an innings and how to bat for one-and-a-half days." 

Often, a spell out of the team gives a player time to introspect. This break could work for Gambhir if he takes it in the right spirit. Says Bhardwaj, "This is a good break and will help him improve." 

Many also feel that Gambhir takes his game a bit too seriously. "Sometimes, he gets too hard on himself. He needs to just enjoy his game," says Delhi's Ranji coach Vijay Dahiya, who also assists Gambhir at Kolkata Night Riders. 

While form has been an issue, there are also other reasons that could have played a role in Gambhir getting the axe. A frosty relationship with Dhoni is being touted as one of the reasons.

India need "Kapil" to groom fast bowlers??

There is a perception amongst common cricket fans that India is a graveyard when it comes to producing quality pace bowlers. After Kapil Dev there have been only Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan who glorified the legacy of fast bowling in India. There is a hue and cry amongst Indian cricket experts about the lack of pace bowlers whereas India's neighbour Pakistan tends to deliver speed merchants like a smiling paddy field. Pakistan is a fertile land for fast bowlers whereas India are the opposites.

But is India really incapable of producing quality pace bowlers? I slightly disagree with this concept. Over the years, India has produced quick men, though not as gifted as those in Pakistan. Though Kapil and Srinath and Zaheer did India proud there have plenty of others who showed much promises only to fade away in the course of time.

These include Ajit Agarkar, Harvinder Singh, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, among others; all bowlers who emerged as encouraging packages but in the long run did not cope with the demands of international cricket.

There have been other reasons offered for their overall failures to become leading fast bowlers. In my opinion, these young prodigies lacked a proper mentor to survive in the competitive world of international cricket. They were never given the type of nurturing which is necessary for a pace bowler to accomplish a 10-year career stint with success.

Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis burst onto the scene as prodigies but their long term success was the result of Imran Khan's astute guidance. Similarly, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander are talents of high quality but for their successful existence they can't deny the contributions of Allan Donald. But sadly, the promising Indian pacemen were never under the watchful eyes of a true master.

As a matter of fact, India does have the mentor but he has been underutilized. The MRF Pace Academy is headed by foreigners whereas in their own land there is Kapil, the man who had given India hope and a shot of pace with his nippy, effective swing bowing. Since Kapil's retirement, India have only summoned the man in 1999 to coach a young side.

The relationship between Kapil and the BCCI is a sore one and for which Kapil was aloof from Indian cricket. A legend like Kapil doesn't deserve such treatment. For the future of Indian pace bowling, the BCCI should've thought of getting benefited from Kapil. Kapil would have been ideal for the likes of Munaf or Irfan, providing necessary guidance. He would have been the perfect person to nurture these younger talents. But it was not to be.

Indian cricket is going through a transition phase. Such times often produce young talents and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of them. Rather than being accurate, his ability to swing the ball at will is brilliant. But Kumar should be nurtured and that is where Kapil should come in. Only an Indian pace bowler can read the minds of a young quick. The Indian culture has always been too busy in focusing on batting talents; pace bowlers have rarely been their subject of interest.

It is not true that fast bowlers don't emerge in India. They do, but worryingly they fade away due to improper man management. There had been no person brought forward to build these young talents. The time has come to seek Kapil's help. Whether the BCCI has Kapil in their plans remains a moot question. I hope good sense prevails.