Sunil Gavaskar raised a serious question about the selection process in the Indian team. The legendary cricketer said the selection of the Indian XI for the fourth Test at Old Trafford should not be solely in the hands of captain Shubman Gill and suggested it may have been influenced by others, including head coach Gautam Gambhir. Gavaskar was particularly critical of including Shardul Thakur in the playing XI while not considering Kuldeep Yadav for the Test. He felt that Gill was not entirely content with the selection of all-rounder Thakur in the XI.

This became particularly apparent when England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett wreaked havoc on the Indian bowlers, sharing a 166-run partnership. The strong foundation laid by the duo helped Joe Root and Ben Stokes score centuries and post a mammoth 669 in their first innings. In the entire innings, Gill entrusted seam-bowler Thakur with only 11 overs. The pacer conceded 55 runs at an economy of 5 and went wicketless.

Gavaskar said that Gill was perhaps in favour of including Kuldeep in the team as a left-arm spinner, and that the final decision on the XI was not entirely his own.

“At the end of the day, it is the captain’s team. You can’t say that he didn’t want somebody like, in Shardul Thakur’s case or Kuldeep Yadav’s case, that he didn’t want them—maybe Shubman didn’t want Shardul in the team and wanted Kuldeep. He should have had them. He is the captain. It’s got to be his call really. I know that these things might not come out. Fact is that the captain is responsible. He is the one who is going to be leading. Simple as that,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.

He continued: “It should never be the coach’s team. I am still very much old school. It shouldn’t happen. However young you are, the reason you’re given the job is because someone sees something in you—that you are a leader. I’m not talking about Shubman Gill, this is a general point. If you are a leader, you lead. That is your job. You think of Ganguly and the way he transformed Indian cricket. Dhoni, or whatever—they have a presence and an aura.”

“I know for the sake of showing everything as hunky-dory these things might not come out. The fact is that the captain is the one who is responsible. He is the one who is going to be leading those.”

Gavaskar also highlighted the selection process during his time, when Team India did not have a coach and the selection calls were made solely by the captain.

“We didn’t have coaches. We just had former players as managers or assistant managers of the team. They were the kind of people who you went up to and talked to. They gave you some advice at lunchtime, at the end of the day’s play, or on the eve of the game. So, it is difficult for me to get my head around the captain and the coach’s combination. When I was captain, we had nobody who was a former player,” Gavaskar said.