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.