Prolific Indian opener Gautam Gambhir feels that the Indian Cricket Board should renew the contract of coach Gary Kirsten after it expires at the end of the Cricket World Cup next year.

“Gary is the best coach India has ever had. I have often said that and I keep on stressing that we need Gary. I don’t need to speak much about him. His fabulous record speaks for itself. He has been a great man-manager. So I believe that he should be retained after the World Cup also,” Gambhir said at the sidelines of a promotional event here.

Gambhir is thus the latest among the Indian stars to join the bandwagon who want the South African to be retained as Cricket South Africa wants him to take over once he finishes his stint with the Indian team.

The opener also supported Kirsten’s idea of sending the top-order batsmen to South Africa, a week in advance so that they can get themselves acclimatised to the pace and bounce of wickets over there.

“We haven’t played much cricket in South Africa of late. So it will be a great idea if we go there a bit early to get used to the conditions. If such a thing happens, it may just work in our favour,” Gambhir said.

He also reiterated that one can’t continue his blazing form for life and there is bound to be ups and downs.

“Right now I am coming back from injury. It’s always a difficult thing when you come back from injury. Only when you spend considerable time out there in the middle, you get to know how it’s shaping up for you,” he said.

The Delhi batsman also feels that just because Bangladesh whipped New Zealand 4-0 in the ODI series, it did not mean that it will be a cakewalk for the Indians when they meet the Black Caps from November 4.

“You can never take any international opposition lightly. Just because Bangladesh beat them 4-0 doesn’t mean that we can take it easy against the New Zealanders. Their team consists of some proven match-winners who can turn a match head on. So we need to be very careful and can’t take things for granted,” Gambhir said.

On a lighter vein, he said that walking ramp is tough but not as tough as opening the batting for the country.

He also said that he hasn’t seen the likes of Yuvraj Singhs and Mahendra Singh Dhonis walk the ramp but said that a cricketer’s endeavour is to perform on field rather than score points off it.

The crucial meeting between Virender Sehwag, who has triggered a virtual players’ revolt against Delhi adminstrators, and DDCA president Arun Jaitley will be held on Tuesday to try and resolve the issues raised by the senior cricketers.

Sehwag has threatened to quit the Delhi Ranji team in protest against alleged nepotism and corruption in the DDCA’s sports committee but has been told to keep his decision on hold till the meeting with Jaitley.

The star Indian opener has received support from his senior Delhi teammates like Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra, who have also threatened to play for some other state in the upcoming domestic season if their grievances were not addressed. Former Delhi players have also backed the revolting cricketers.

Since both Sehwag and Jaitley were out of town, the meeting could not be scheduled earlier.

According to Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) sources, Jaitley will also talk to the top office bearers before meeting Sehwag on Tuesday.

Sources said the DDCA office-bearers were supposed to meet today to discuss the players’ resentment but will now meet early next week because of Jaitley’s busy schedule.

Reshuffle of the selection committee tops the agenda with the possibility of two selectors being sacked from the panel.

The agenda also includes offering BCCI-style contracts to players to provide them a sense of security.

Faced with a players’ revolt, the Delhi Ranji team saw its nine players miss the conditioning camp on the second successive day. 

Ashish Nehra, who attended the camp on day one, was not seen on Thursday along with Aditya Jain and Sunny Sherawat.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Ranji team started its preparatory camp for the upcoming domestic season without seven players but officials insisted that unrest against the DDCA was not the reason for their absence.

After Virender Sehwag’s outburst against “nepotism and corruption” in the Delhi District and Cricket association (DDCA), seven players including pacer Ishant Sharma and opener Gautam Gambhir skipped the opening day of the camp.

However, DDCA Vice-President and Selection Committee chairman Chetan Chauhan insisted that the players were absent because of other engagements.

Apart from Sehwag, Ishant, Gambhir and Nehra, others missing from the camp were Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas and Chaitanya Anand.

Sehwag, who has threatened to quit the Delhi team for Haryana, is likely to meet DDCA President Arun Jaitley on August 26 or 27 and officials said a resolution would be worked out.

Virender Sehwag’s allegations of corruption in Delhi and District Cricket Association triggered a virtual revolt against the administration on Wednesday with seven players refusing to attend the DDCA conditioning camp.

Players who missed the camp today include Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Rajat Bhatiya, Mithun Manhas and Chaitaniya Nanda.

Yesterday, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir and pacer Ishant Sharma joined Sehwag against the corruption in DDCA and showed their willingness to join other Ranji teams.

Virender Sehwag’s allegations of nepotism and corruption in DDCA today triggered a virtual revolt against the administration with more senior players like Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma threatening to quit the Delhi Ranji team.

Even as rattled DDCA officials sought to play down the brewing unrest among the players, Sehwag claimed that more players would support him on the issue, raising the possibility of a showdown just weeks before the Ranji season.

“More will come out,” said Sehwag, who is currently in Bangalore undergoing rehabilitation for his injured shoulder.

The players are unhappy with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) sports committee which, they claimed, interfered in selection matters and also indulged in corruption.

DDCA Sports Secretary Sunil Dev has refuted the allegations and said he was prepared to talk to the players and resolve the differences.

Apart from Gambhir and Sharma, left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra was another senior player who has Sehwag’s campaign against the sports committee.

A concerned DDCA President Arun Jaitley has told his officials not to precipitate the crisis and let things “cool down”.

Sehwag is likely meet Jaitley on August 27 or 28. The explosive right-hander has threatened to leave the team for Haryana, saying that he is frustrated with the interference in selection matters.

Gambhir and Nehra made it clear that even they would “not hesitate” to move out to other associations if things did not improve and transparency in the selection process was not brought in.

Gambhir also felt the DDCA sports committee, which did not have a single cricketer on its panel, needed to be changed as it put pressure on captains and stand-in captains to play their candidates.

Ishant voiced his support for Sehwag, saying “he is absolutely right about selection matters”.

Interestingly, the revolt comes just days before the crucial sports committee elections and some of the DDCA officials are interpreting the move as a “pressure tactic” by the players.

The players have voiced their dissent only through the media and none of them have communicated their grievances in writing to the DDCA.

The DDCA Vice-President and Chairman of the Selection committee Chetan Chauhan conceded that there were certain problems of nepotism which needed to be addressed.

“Delhi has a lot of influential people, who do put some pressure on the selectors to choose their wards. There are problems which need to be sorted out, but I am sure everything will be resolved. We do not want to lose top class players like Sehwag and others,” he said.

Sources said DDCA office bearers will meet on August 22 to discuss the issue.

Sehwag also got support from former India cricketer and Delhi coach Madan Lal, who was critical of the functioning of the Sports Committee.

“I do not know how the Sports Committee is so powerful and why there are so many complaints. The matter has to be looked into,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BCCI sought to distance itself from the developments, saying it was an internal matter between the players and their association.

“It is an internal matter between DDCA and the players. The DDCA is capable of resolving the issue,” BCCI spokesman Rajiv Shukla said.

Gautam Gambhir’s stay at the top of the ICC Test batsmen ranking lasted just 10 days as Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara grabbed the coveted position from the Indian opener on Saturday.

Gambhir had replaced Pakistani run-machine Mohammad Yousuf as the number one Test batsmen on July 15 but Sangakkara’s match-saving 130 run innings in the third Test against Pakistan propelled him to the top.

By virtue of his performance in the third and final Test against Pakistan, the 31-year-old Sri Lankan wicket-keeper gained two places to secure the number one position with 862 points while Gambhir followed him with 847 points.

Apart from Gambhir, no other Indian finds a place in the top-10 chart and the next in the list is Sachin Tendulakar, who dropped a place to find himself in the 15th spot.

Among Indian bowlers, Harbhajan Singh has dropped a spot to the sixth while Zaheer Khan gained one rung to be ninth.

South African Dale Steyn leads the bowlers chart, followed by Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson.

Meanwhile, there was no change in the top-five of the ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders with South African Jacques Kallis still leading the pack, followed by Johnson and New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.

India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir never thought of rising to the top of the ICC Test rankings in such short span of his career but more than the numero uno status he felt happy to have helped the country win matches abroad.

Gambhir had become only the sixth Indian to occupy the top slot of the ICC Test chart and he did that in the fifth year of his international career, having made his debut against Australia in November in Mumbai.

“I never thought to get to the top (of ICC Test chart) so soon. But it is great to reach the top of the rankings,” he said.

“But more than the top spot I am happy to have helped India win Test matches in England, Australia and New Zealand. I have contributed in them and I am happy,” the 27-year-old left-hander said.

Asked which form of cricket he enjoyed most, Gambhir said, “The great players of the game excel in Test cricket. Any cricketer would want to make a name in Test cricket. It is just the same for me also,” he said.

On his relationship with Virender Sehwag, Gambhir said he would not shy away from taking advice from his opening partner on any cricketing issue.

“I had an excellent on and off-field relationship with Sehwag. I don’t have any hesitation to go up to him and sort out any cricketing issues with him,” Gambhir said.

The Delhi batsman said he would spend the nearly two-month break from cricket with his family members.

“I have been away from home for the last seven months so I will spend the break from cricket with my family. As for marriage I have not thought about it. Lots of cricket are coming up after two months. So cricket is my priority now,” the Delhi batsman said.

Gautam Gambhir is country’s highest ranked Test batsman at number three and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, at sixth, is the highest placed Indian bowler in the latest ICC rankings issued on Thursday.

Gambhir, the Delhi left-hander with 847 rating points, is the only Indian to figure in the top 10 batsmen’s chart, followed by Sachin Tendulkar (13th), VVS Laxman (15th) and Virender Sehwag (20th).

In the bowlers’ chart, Harbhajan is the lone Indian in top 10, followed by Zaheer Khan (11th) and Ishant Sharma (20th).

In the team ranking, India (117 points) are placed third behind top ranked Australia (128) and South Africa (119).

Meanwhile Pakistan, currently sixth, will go into their three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting at Galle on Saturday targetting the fourth place, replacing the Lankans.

A 1-0 or 2-1 series win for Younus Khan’s side will be enough to put it on 105 ratings points alongside Sri Lanka but ahead of Kumar Sangakkara’s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

Personally, Younus, currently the number one batsman in this format, will be aiming to become the 25th batsman in history to reach the 900-point mark.

The 31-year-old right-handed batsman is just 20 points short of becoming the second Pakistan batsman after Mohammad Yousuf to achieve the rare distinction.

Static at ninth spot, opener Gautam Gambhir remains the only Indian in the top 10 list of Test batsmen in the ICC rankings issued on Friday. 

Gambhir, who has been in fine form this season, was ninth with 772 rating points, while his opening partner Virender Sehwag was also static at the 11th spot.

Their India team-mates Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman lost two places each and share the 13th spot in the ICC batsmen’s list still headed by West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

In the bowlers’ chart headed by Sri Lankan Muttiah Murlitharan, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh occupy the ninth spot with 686 rating points and is three rungs above his India team-mate Zaheer Khan who also remained unchanged at 12th with 631 rating points.

In the Test Championships, India are in third place on 118 rating points, behind South Africa (121) and Australia (126).

Meanwhile, Pakistan returns to the Test scene after a gap of 14 months and they have the chance to leapfrog Sri Lanka and England into fourth place if they win both the home Tests against Sri Lanka starting from Saturday.

A 2-0 win will lift Pakistan to 107 ratings points and will drop Mahela Jayawardene’s side to 104 points.