Gautam Gambhir: Man with the 'Midas Touch' does it again
Ahmedabad (PTI): There is a very thin line between bullishness and conviction and Gautam Gambhir often operates somewhere in between.
He has a way of getting things done and Sunday was another great example of doing enough to
History will judge whether he was a great tactician but with two ICC white-ball trophies in consecutive years, there is not an iota of doubt that Gambhir is India's most successful men's cricket team head coach.
And not just that, perhaps he is also Indian cricket's most talked about coach, who can polarise opinions.
No coach has divided opinions since Greg Chappell did at the start of the millennium.
Yet, Chappell became the pantomime villain back in the day, who was unceremoniously dumped.
However in case of Gambhir, despite underwhelming show in Test cricket, tough calls taken with regards to super seniors, he always had the backing of men who mattered in the BCCI boardroom.
He has endured the wrath of social media, at times even unreal hate and endless conjecture, but his grit has always mirrored the resolve he showed while batting for two days to save a Test for India in Napier.
Gambhir's bullishness is an extension of his persona -- a very Delhi trait that he imbibed once he realised that “good boys” rarely survive the test of time in capital cricket.
Despite hailing from a super-rich family, little came easy for Gambhir. In the crocodile-infested waters of DDCA politics, performance was the only currency that kept him relevant.
He has always been fiercely opinionated. His decisions as a player, captain and now coach may have been right or wrong, but the conviction behind them was unmistakable.
It came from a place of honesty and self-belief, reinforced by a strong sense of right and wrong.
If he believed that Ajay Jadeja had no place in the Delhi Ranji Trophy nets due to his alleged involvement in match-fixing, he was hellbent on not entering the nets till the former India all-rounder resigned.
As a Delhi captain, he fought with curators, administrators, selectors for players he believed in. He never cared who was in-front of him -- whether it was Bishan Bedi or Chetan Chauhan as long as he knew that what he said and felt made sense.
If he believed that a young Suryakumar Yadav was his trump card when he was KKR skipper, he backed him to the hilt.
And when he became the India head coach, he believed that Surya was the right man to take Rohit Sharma's legacy forward and not Hardik Pandya, who seemed to be injury prone.
If he felt that Ishan Kishan was needed for the T20 World Cup, he would ask for it. If he felt that Harshit Rana has raw talent and Washington Sundar is an all-rounder that India will need in the next 10 years, he would listen to no one.
His captaincy was very instinctive and his coaching tenure whether for Lucknow Super Giants or KKR and now for India have been based on gut feel more than pure data.
There are coaches who set up players for failure but no one can accuse Gambhir of possessing that vile trait. He would rather take a few bullets for under-performing players, back them till they are back to their best.
A case in point was Abhishek Sharma in the T20 World Cup. Varun Chakravarthy had a poor tournament by his standards but enjoyed Gambhir's unflinching support.
When Rinku Singh's father passed away, Gambhir never asked for a replacement as he wanted his player to be back with his team.
His facial contours would rarely give away as to what he is thinking or how he is feeling. A man of few words when he played for India but a coach who would always goad his boys to play for the flag.
T20 is a format which Gambhir always understood like the back of his palm and even in the coming days, this is the format where one would see him excel as a coach.
Whether he can carry this 'Midas Touch' into 50 over and Tests is a million dollar question. If that happens, Indian cricket will reach heights, it has never seen before.
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Deputy CM Shivakumar slams BJP MPs for their silence on LPG shortage in India
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the shortage of LPG refills has become a serious concern in the state, amid warnings from hotel owners that they may be forced to shut down operations if supplies do not improve soon.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said the issue must be discussed in Parliament and urged Members of Parliament to raise the matter, as the shortage was affecting businesses and the public.
"The government must discuss this in Parliament. They should allow a discussion today... From today itself, we are facing problems. There is no stock," he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister criticised BJP MPs for not speaking about the LPG shortage despite its impact on businesses such as hotels and catering establishments.
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He noted that hoteliers have already begun limiting their operations due to dwindling supplies.
"Now, because of the gas price hike and the gas shortage, people are going on strike, but the BJP MPs are not talking about it. They raise their voice on many other issues - strangely enough - but they are silent on this," he said.
Shivakumar also pointed to the rising fuel costs, saying diesel prices had recently increased sharply, adding further pressure on businesses.
According to him, the combined impact of fuel price increases and LPG supply disruptions was affecting the hospitality sector.
He said even former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda spoke about some of the issues pertaining to Karnataka and called for discussion.
"Deve Gowda is talking about Mekedatu and Yettinahole projects. Let him direct his party MPs to talk about this (fuel shortage) in the Parliament.
It is not right for me to launch a verbal attack on him, considering his age. Let him suggest solutions for Mekedatu and Yettinahole. Let his party MLAs talk about what their party did, and I will counter it with what we have done," Shivakumar said.
Hotel associations in the state have warned that continued supply shortages could force establishments to temporarily shut down, particularly those dependent on commercial LPG cylinders for daily cooking. The Deputy Chief Minister indicated that the issue required urgent attention at the national level, as LPG supply and pricing fall under the Centre's purview.
