BCCI to make final call on Gambhir's career after Champions Trophy showdown

Gautam Gambhirs position as head coach will be revaluated on the basis of Indias Champions Trophy performance next month amid concerns that there is discontent in the dressing room due to his push to end the longprevalent superstar culture in the teamSince Gambhir took over in July last year the Indian team has lost six out of 10 Tests and also a bilateral ODI series in Sri LankaThe results have left Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharmas international future in significant disarray thanks to their own poor formBut Gambhirs position has also become slightly shaky Adding to the drama is his speculated rift with prominent players during the BorderGavaskar Test series in Australia which India lost 13If India doesnt do well in the Champions Trophy the head coachs position could become untenable Yes his contract runs till the 2027 World Cup but the process of evaluation continuesSport is resultoriented and till now Gambhir hasnt given any tangible results a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymityThere has already been a review of the teams performance in Australia by the BCCI It is understood that Gambhir and senior players arent on the same page on the issue of team cultureGambhir wants to end the superstar culture that has been prevalent for so many years now As captain of Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 he had dropped Brendon McCullum from the playing XI for the IPL final against CSKHe has come here to dismantle the superstar culture and thats what has caused discomfort for some playing members a source who has seen Gambhirs functioning closely saidHe cited another instance from his Delhi playing days to explain Gambhirs mindsetOnce as Delhi Ranji captain Gambhir decided that they will play home matches at the Roshanara Ground in Delhi NorthWest where the pitches were greentopBut one huge superstar who was also out of the Indian team wanted to play the games at the Jamia Milia Islamia ground which was closer to his south Delhi residence Gambhir turned him down Similarly in the Indian team he doesnt want star culture to breed the person addedIt is learnt that the head coach was not pleased with how some star players gave specific demands about hotels and practice timings during the tour of Australia But on the other side senior players have felt a lack of communication from his endSelection committees take Amid this ongoing tussle is the view of the national selection committee which does not want the head coach to have too much of a say in selection matters A former selector said Gambhir has shown shades of mercurial former coach Greg Chappell in his approachThe Australian who came amid much fanfare left in chaos after developing differences with senior players over his training methodsEither you be like a Ravi Shastri who would be mediafriendly give those sound bites propping up players making them look like alpha males said the former selector who toured a lot during Shastris tenure as coachOr be like Rahul Dravid Gary Kirsten or John Wright who would remain aloof letting the players hog the limelightThe Chappell Way doesnt work in India Gambhirs or Shastris or Dravids will go but players will stay he addedThe BCCI brass is also upset with how Gambhirs personal assistant shadowed the team everywhere in AustraliaWhy was his PA sitting in the car specified for national selectors They cant even discuss things in private with an unknown third person in the car Why was he allotted space in the BCCIs hospitality box in Adelaide an irritated BCCI official saidHow did he have breakfast in the cordoned off area of a fivestar facility which is just earmarked for the team members he askedWith the drama picking pace with every passing day it would not be wrong to say that it is a very uneasy Indian dressing room that is heading into the Champions Trophy from February 19 to March 9With agency inputs