Shane Watson has raised concerns about India’s approach to team selection under head coach Gautam Gambhir, pointing to frequent alterations in the batting order and player rotation as the primary cause of the team’s inconsistent performances.
Watson’s assessment comes at a time when India has faced mixed results across formats, including recent T20 International series losses to Ireland and England.
“The thing that you continue to see and the reason India have been inconsistent under Gambhir is the chopping and changing around the batting order all the time. Players are coming in and out always, and when the team is unsettled, be it the batting order or players coming in and out, that just makes it more difficult for the team to be consistent. That’s why India have been so inconsistent,” Watson said on the Prime Video’s YouTube channel.
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Gambhir’s trophy wins despite selection concerns
Watson acknowledged that Gambhir has delivered significant achievements since arriving in the role during mid-2024. The former Australian all-rounder recognised the coach’s impact on specific players and the team’s trophy wins during this period, including the 2025 Champions Trophy, 2025 Asia Cup and 2026 T20 World Cup.
“There are a lot of incredible things that Gambhir has brought to the Indian setup. There is no question about that. With the backing of players like Sanju Samson, Gambhir has done wonders for Samson. Samson repaid him and did some amazing things in the backend of the T20 World Cup. So there are a lot of great things Gambhir has brought,” Watson said.
The case for greater continuity in India’s XI
Despite these achievements, Watson believes the frequent squad changes undermine India’s potential. He stressed the importance of maintaining continuity in the playing XI to build team stability and performance consistency.
“My belief is there is too much chopping and changing around the players under Gambhir. There needs to be a little more continuity there, and for world cricket, if they do that, they are going to be ridiculously hard to beat,” Watson said.
