File photo of Gautam Gambhir (left) and Rohit Sharma.© AFP
During and after the India tour of Australia, multiple media reports claimed that all was not well in the Indian dressing room. According to the claims, there was no cohesion in the team. Amid such leaked reports becoming the topic of talk, the BCCI came up with a 10-point diktat to bring discipline in the side. Now, India captain Rohit Sharma has cleared air on his relationship with India head coach Gautam Gambhir. There have been conjectures about Rohit’s working relationship with the coach and the skipper said that once he enters the playing arena, he is his own man.
“Both (he and Gambhir) of us are very clear in what we want to do. I’m not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind every game tactically but it’s very clear in my mind. Gautam Gambhir is somebody once we enter the field he trusts what the captain is doing on the field. The basic talks that happen are only off the field, in the ground or maybe the changing room,” said Rohit in the press conference during Team India’s squad announcement for England ODIs and Champions Trophy.
“But once we take the field it’s all about what I do on the field. That’s the kind of trust we have in each other and that’s how it should be. That’s about it,” he added.
India announced their 15-member squad for Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday. The eight-team tournament, which is set to begin on February 19 in Pakistan, will see the Rohit Sharma-led side playing all their matches in Dubai as the side refused to travel.
India’s emphasis on spin and concerns over Mohammed Siraj’s effectiveness with the old ball led to the pacer’s exclusion from the squad.
While Indian selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, gave a maiden ODI call-up to batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal, they left out seasoned pacer Siraj on the grounds that he lacked skills with the older ball.
With pitches in Dubai expected to not favour fast bowlers a lot, like it did in the Caribbean leg of last year’s T20 World Cup, India chose to stick with the four-spinners formula which includes Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar in the mix.
(With PTI Inputs)
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