Zaheer Khan Warns Against Gambhir’s ‘excessive Flexibility’ In India’s White-ball Setup

Zaheer Khan warns against Gambhir’s ‘excessive flexibility’ in India’s white-ball setup (Image Source: IANS)

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has voiced his concerns over Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s “excessive flexible approach” in the white-ball setup, cautioning that too much experimentation and frequent changes could lead to player insecurity.

While acknowledging that flexibility is important, Zaheer stressed the need for clear communication and structured guidelines to maintain squad stability.

“You’ve said that you’ve got to have flexibility. Number one and two will be there, but the others are going to be flexible. Within that flexibility, some rules also apply," Zaheer said on Cricbuzz.

"There are certain protocols you have to follow. Certain communication needs to happen, which is going to streamline things. Otherwise, you are creating insecurity, which at some stage will come back and hurt you," he said.

Zaheer further emphasised that a well-structured system is essential to ensure the team functions smoothly and adapts to the evolving demands of modern cricket.

“That’s why I said recency bias is very strong right now. The situation has become dynamic if you compare Rahul Dravid’s approach and Gautam Gambhir’s approach. You can say it’s good, bad, or ugly—or you can say, how do we adapt? Each individual, whether it’s the senior management, the think tank, players, or selectors, will have to gauge it and streamline the system for the wheel to turn properly,” he added.

Despite these concerns, Team India has been in formidable form under Gambhir’s leadership. They recently secured a 4-1 victory in the T20I series against England and currently hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing three-match ODI series.

“That’s why I said recency bias is very strong right now. The situation has become dynamic if you compare Rahul Dravid’s approach and Gautam Gambhir’s approach. You can say it’s good, bad, or ugly—or you can say, how do we adapt? Each individual, whether it’s the senior management, the think tank, players, or selectors, will have to gauge it and streamline the system for the wheel to turn properly,” he added.

Article Source: IANS