Should Gautam Gambhir be rested?

The Delhi player has struggled with form and fitness for most parts of the year.

His contribution, or the lack of it, in the Test (21 and 0) that eventually ended in a draw raised a question that has been doing the rounds quite frequently of late:

Should Gambhir be rested?

The duck he registered in the second innings at Motera was his third in his last five innings.

This number assumes significance in the context that there have been just four innings in Gambhir's Test career where he has failed to open his account.

The 29-year-old has aggregated just 86 runs in his last nine innings.

This is in sharp contrast to the last two seasons when his cumulative aggregate was a whopping 1,861 runs in 13 Tests (see table below).

Gambhir's performance in the last three years:

His aggregate of 207 runs in the two Tests against Bangladesh in January, including a superlative 116 against Bangladesh in the opening Test at the Zohur Ahmed stadium helped India to a comprehensive series win.

Then started the rut.

In the following home series against South Africa, Gambhir averaged a measly 12.66, scoring just 38 runs.

His poor run of form has continued since.

If his performance in the lone Test he played on the tour of Sri Lanka was bad, then it was no better against Australia at home either.

While Gambhir aggregated 1,134 runs (at an average of 70.88) in eight Tests in 2008, the following year he averaged a Bradmanesque 90.88, aggregating 727 runs in just five Tests.

Besides helping India register a number of significant wins, his batting earned Gambhir a lot of accolades.

He was named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2009, an honour that opening partner Virender Sehwag admitted, inspired him to improve his performance.

"I got motivated when Gambhir got this award," Sehwag said after being named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2010 at Bangalore last month.

Well, Gautam seems to have lost the battle of wounded knee.

Kiran More, former wicket=keeper and once chairman of the Indian selectors, feels the recurring injury has hampered Gambhir's batting.

"Injury has definitely affected his performance," says More, adding "The tour of New Zealand is the third time that he has tried to make a comeback this year."

Gambhir has been nursing a knee injury for some time now.

He flew home mid-way through the Sri Lanka series in May and has been out of action on a regular basis since.

He returned to play the first Test against Australia at Mohali before the injury resurfaced, ruling him out of the rest of the series.

Gambhir's place in the side was not in dispute and he was expectedly named in the Indian squad for the Motera Test.

Vijay's ton has put him under pressure to deliver.

'I am coming back from injury. It's always difficult recovering from a major injury,' Gambhir was quoted as saying ahead of the Motera Test.

"What he has given to the team in the last two years cannot be counted out," says More, adding, "Such a phase comes in the career of every player."

"It is the first time that he is going through such a phase. Others in the team are doing well. It is not that the team is suffering because of his poor run."

Sehwag concurs.

Some rest may just do the trick.

"Before the World Cup we can't take many chances. I would still pick Gambhir in the team despite his recent form," says More.

"Just one bad season and a few innings without runs don't make him a lesser player," argues More, adding, "Team India needs him very badly in the days ahead."