Reports: Gambhir wants total control of Team India

As per reports, Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to be named India's new Test captain. He may be touted as a future superstar, but he still hasn't reached the stage where he can challenge head coach Gautam Gambhir's decisions.

After captain Rohit Sharma and veteran batter Virat Kohli stepped away from Test cricket, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has reportedly asked the BCCI for full control of the team's proceedings.

As per a Dainik Jagran report, Gambhir came into the setup with the intention to finish the superstar culture in Indian cricket. His first move was to bring about the 10-point diktat, forcing all players to feature in domestic cricket whenever available and behave in a certain manner when on tours. The second phase was to create a pool of players in the team who will serve the nation for the long haul.

Gambhir reportedly played an instrumental role in phasing out Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from red-ball cricket. While Rohit announced his Test retirement on May 7, Kohli took the call on May 12. These announcements came days before India's squad selection for the England tour, after Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar informed them about the team management's plans to go ahead with a younger squad.

"In order to stop a repeat of the home-series defeat against New Zealand and the debacle in Australia, Gambhir has requested the board for full autonomy," the report added.

Indian cricket has been run by its captains in recent years. The last time an Indian captain was shown the door was in 2005 when the then-India head coach Greg Chappell reportedly played a key role in ousting Sourav Ganguly from the side.

Kohli trained like an Olympic athlete: Ex-IND S&C coach Basu

Read More

Kohli trained like an Olympic athlete: Ex-IND S&C coach Basu

In recent years, Indian cricket has seen Ravi Shastri-Kohli and Rahul Dravid-Rohit forming great coach-captain relationships and bringing success to the nation.

The report claimed that Gambhir's case was different. He had as much say in policy-making, squad selection, and other team-related matters as the captain, and now that Rohit, Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin have all retired, he is likely to be the only one at the wheel.

The report further adds that Shubman is likely to always be on the same page as Gambhir, as he is only 25 years old. Jasprit Bumrah could have been someone who could have countered Gambhir's calls, but the experienced seamer is reportedly out of the captaincy race as his workload needs to be managed carefully.