Gautam Gambhir might have taken a sigh of relief on being selected for the Indian Test side. But, the struggle has not ended for the batsman as he was not selected for the playing eleven in the ongoing Test against New Zealand at Eden Gardens.
He was brought in as reserve opener in place of injured KL Rahul. But, captain Virat Kohli chose out-of-form Shikhar Dhawan in playing eleven.
Shikhar Dhawan continued his bad form as he played only 10 balls, scoring 1 run before dragging a delivery into his stumps.
On Thursday, captain Virat Kohli had not opened his cards on who he would play.
#TeamIndia skipper @imVkohli sharing a laugh with @GautamGambhir & @Wriddhipops during the training session – @Paytm Test Cricket #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/vtUDpgwfaV
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 29, 2016
“We basically do the segregation according to who’s had batting practice on the previous day. Generally, we try and stick to the batting order. Sometimes, it does happen that a player just wants throw-downs and then he walks away. If you don’t see a player at the nets, doesn’t mean he is not going to play. It all depends on the preparation preference that an individual has,” Kohli said.
#TeamIndia make their way to the Eden Gardens for the 2nd Test against @BLACKCAPS #INDvNZ @Paytm Test cricket pic.twitter.com/HRlPtEvw0G
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 30, 2016
Gambhir had expressed his nervousness. But he had said he just wanted to be a part the dressing room.
“I just want to be a part of a winning dressing room and that is where the happiness is and that is what a happy dressing room is all about. Whenever you play a game of cricket, you want to get back to a happy dressing room. Even after Duleep Trophy the feeling was that we won the competition and not thinking or (was) too much worried about selection,” he told BCCI.tv.
