Former Pakistan National Cricket Team player Basit Ali lashed out at the India National Cricket Team head coach, Gautam Gambhir, after the loss in the fourth Test against Australia. Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has raised concerns about the coordination between India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma amid the ongoing third Test against Australia.
He mockingly said that the coach of the team should be applauded for his coaching. India National Cricket Team suffered a disappointing loss in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The Australian National Cricket Team thumped the Rohit Sharma-led side by a massive margin of 184 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
It’s fair to say that the India National Cricket Team had a great chance to draw the match and even win. But they bottled it down with the poor batting effort and it saw them losing the match and even denting their chances to play the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Under Gautam Gambhir, India have witnessed a massive downfall
India captain Rohit Sharma has been criticized a lot, but even more than him, it has been head coach Gautam Gambhir who has been receiving a lot of flak for the team’s poor returns in the Test cricket, especially in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Under Gautam Gambhir, India have witnessed a massive downfall as they lost the ODI series to Sri Lanka, faced a whitewash in the home Test series for the first time in history, and now are on the verge of losing the ongoing Test series against Australia.
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali suggested that both are not on the same page, highlighting that their differences have become evident over recent series, including the one-day tournament in Sri Lanka and the Bangladesh series, which he considered weak.
Basit Ali takes a dig at Gautam Gambhir after India’s loss in 4th BGT 2024-25 Test
Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali took a dig at Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir after the visitors lost the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne by 184 runs. Questioning India’s tactics in the Boxing Day Test, he wondered why they did not promote Nitish Reddy in the second innings despite him notching up his maiden Test ton in the first innings.
Chasing a target of 340 to win the MCG Test against Australia, India were bowled out for 155 in 79.1 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored for 84, while Rishabh Pant (30) was the only other batter to reach double figures in India’s second innings.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali opined that India missed a trick by not promoting Reddy in the batting order. He said (as quoted by Times of India):
“Shabash hai Gautam Gambhir saab ko. One-day mein to bada left-right combination kar rahe the. Aaj bhejna tha No. 6 pe Nitish (Reddy) ko. Chahe woh jaldi out ho jata, pata toh chalta kuchh kiya aapne (Congratulations to Gambhir; he keeps advocating for left-right combination in one-day cricket, should have sent Nitish at No. 6; even if he had failed, it would have showed the coach tried something).”
The 54-year-old Basit Ali also lashed out at the assistant coaches, questioning what kind of training they are providing to the batters. Ali added:
“Pata nahi kaun batting coach hai jisko yeh nahi pata ki kis tarah survive kiya jata hai aur kis bowler ko kis tarah khela jata hai (I don’t know who is the batting coach who can’t advise on how to survive and how to play a particular bowler).”
He also opined that the time has come for India to have separate coaches for white-ball and red-ball formats to prevent the side from further embarrassment. Gambhir is the head coach across formats while Morne Morkel is the bowling coach; Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate are assistant coaches.
Ali was also critical of Pant’s stroke in the final session of play in Melbourne, which opened the doors of victory for Australia. The left-handed batter attempted a pull off part-timer spinner Travis Head, but miscued his shot and ended up getting caught in the deep. Slamming the keeper-batter’s choice of stroke, Ali said (as quoted by Times of India):
“Pant ne bewakoofi kari. Chhakka marne gaye. Kya hua? Kisko nuksaan hua? Mulk ko aur team ko (Pant did a foolish thing, went for a six. What happened? Who suffered? His country and his team). That shot changed the entire match. Upar wale ne yeh (pointing at his head) diya hai na, isko use karte hain (God has given you brain, it should be used).”
India were reasonably placed to draw the MCG Test at 121-3 in the last session. However, Pant’s dismissal led to a batting collapse, which saw Team India lose seven wickets in the final session of the gripping contest.