Gautam Gambhir Reacts To Dressing Room Leaks In Press Conference, Says Everything Under Control

The Indian coach Gautam Gambhir attended a press conference ahead of the Sydney test match in which he asserted that he has “everything under control” within the dressing room. However, he acknowledged the necessity for “honest” discussions with the team following their recent loss in the Melbourne Test, which left them trailing 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

While talking about the reports of dressing room talks going public, he said, “I don’t think I need to answer to any report. There are some honest words. That’s all I can say. Honesty is extremely important if you want to go on and achieve some great things.”

He added, “Everything is fine. Team first. It’s a team game, and everyone understands this. Debates between a player and a coach should stay between them. Any conversations in the dressing room should stay in the dressing room.”

In the wake of that defeat, reports surfaced suggesting that Gambhir was growing frustrated with India’s performance in Australia. Despite these challenges, he remained “extremely, extremely confident” that the team could secure a crucial victory in Sydney to draw the series and retain the trophy.

Gautam Gambhir said, “If someone had said 40-45 days ago that we would be in this situation, that we can come to Sydney and draw this series, it’s a good position to be in. And I don’t think so that anything is out of control. When you come to a Test like this, it’s not that batting didn’t do well or bowling didn’t do well. If batting and bowling hadn’t done well, we wouldn’t have won a Test match or we wouldn’t have been 2-1 down. We could have been in a worse situation. So, as I said, I don’t think so that anything is worrisome.”

During the Melbourne Test, as India aimed to secure a draw, several key batters including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant opted for aggressive shots, leading to their dismissals. Ahead of his first series in charge as India’s Test coach in September of last year, Gambhir emphasised his desire to cultivate a team capable of adapting to various scenarios, whether that meant scoring 400 runs in a day or being patient enough to bat for a draw.

On Thursday, he was questioned about the potential conflict between a batter playing their natural game and the demands of the match situation.

He said, “It’s the team-first ideology that matters. It’s a team sport and you’ve got to play what the team needs you to do. That’s as simple as it can get. People can play the natural game. But still, in a team sport, individuals only contribute. It’s the team [that is important]. If you need to play in a certain way, I think you’ve got to do it.”

Gambhir further added, “I don’t want to talk about individuals. I think everyone knows where they are. And as I just mentioned, in a team sport, it’s only the team. You have to expect players to do what the team needs you to do. Whether they go to bad sessions, whether they go to be attacking, because that is all that matters in a team sport for me.”

While talking about the transition phase, Gambhir said, “I think Indian cricket will always be in safe hands till the time you’ve got honest people sitting in that room. And honesty is the most important thing for any transition. And it is not about phasing out senior players or getting the youngsters in.”

He added, “Ultimately, the only thing that can keep you in that dressing room is the performance. And it starts from all of us. Not only from the players, from the coaches as well.”

In addition, the former India captain was questioned about the status of skipper Rohit Sharma in India’s playing XI for the final Test on January 3. Gambhir opted to stay tight-lipped regarding this straightforward inquiry, stating that the final team selection will be made on match day after evaluating the conditions of the Sydney wicket.

Here’s the video:

Click to watch this video directly on YouTube

What do you think? Will Rohit Sharma get dropped?

The post Gautam Gambhir Reacts To Dressing Room Leaks In Press Conference, Says Everything Under Control appeared first on RVCJ Media.

from RVCJ Media https://ift.tt/VxMibDp