Should Gautam Gambhir be dropped by Kolkata?

The Kolkata Knight Riders, 2012 IPL Champions, currently sit fourth on the table, with two wins and two losses from their four games so far. The team has only looked convincing in their win against Mumbai so far, with big losses to Delhi and Punjab, and they only managed to squeeze past Bangalore due to a gem of a catch by Chris Lynn to dismiss the dangerous AB de Villiers in the last over.

The Kolkata bowling unit has performed faultlessly and deserves all the credit for Kolkata’s success, but they will be unable to win the team more matches if the batting unit fails to perform. The batting department of Kolkata has been very disappointing so far, with big names like Yusuf Pathan and Gautam Gambhir failing on a regular basis. It falls regularly to batsmen like Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey to take Kolkata over the line, and in case they fail, as happened against Punjab, the Kolkata batting falls apart.

While in the first three games Kolkata managed to gloss over their biggest problems, due to good knocks from a couple of batsmen and tight bowling displays, the game against Punjab has rung warning bells and exposed problems that need to be addressed urgently if Kolkata want to seriously challenge for the title. After restricting the in-form and dangerous Punjab batting to a measly 130, on the back of good spells by spinners Chawla and Narine, Kolkata were expected to comfortably chase down the total. However, a top order collapse quickly turned into a total rout, and with the exception of Suryakumar Yadav, no Kolkata batsman offered any resistance.

The heart of the problem lies with Kolkata’s two Indian batsmen, Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan. Pathan has always been unpredictable but at least contributes as a part time bowler, but Gambhir, a specialist batsman, has been having a nightmare of a series so far.

In the opening game against Mumbai, Gambhir looked unsettled right from the start, and departed after facing eight balls and failing to score. Against Delhi, both openers fell early, Gambhir departing after four balls for another duck, after some smart bowling. In the Bangalore game, he departed first ball. Finally, in the last game against Punjab, he dropped himself to No.3, but still fell cheaply after scoring just one run.

As the captain of the Kolkata team, more is expected from someone with the experience of Gambhir. With a return of just one run from four games, this is a serious problem that the Kolkata camp needs to address immediately.

Perhaps the burden of captaincy is affecting Gambhir’s batting negatively, in which case the problem should be discussed with the senior players and coach. Someone like Jacques Kallis could be made captain for a couple of games, to allow Gautam some time to play without pressure, while still being involved in the on-field decision making. Or maybe it would be better for the team if he was rested for a couple of games and allowed to find his form in the training nets. Other batsmen like Manvinder Bisla or Debrata Das could be given a chance to play, allowing someone like Suryakumar Yadav, who has been impressive with the bat, to play higher up the order. Opening duties could be taken over by Manish Pandey or Robin Uthappa.

Whatever the decision, it needs to be taken quickly, since Kolkata’s next match with Rajasthan is a crucial tie that Kolkata needs to win to stay in contention for the playoff places. By doing nothing, Kolkata risk dropping crucial points at an important stage of the contest, with tough games against Chennai and Rajasthan coming up after the tournament returns to India in May. Ultimately, Gambhir as captain will have to make the decision himself, and it is up to him to decide what is in the best interest of the team.