Former India fast bowler Madan Lal voiced his disappointment over reports of leaked discussions from the Indian dressing room, which hinted at a rift within the team. He questioned how such internal matters were disclosed and stated that if these rumours were true, it would reflect poorly on the team.
There were reports of disquiet in the Indian team dressing room after their 184-run defeat to Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, claiming that head coach Gautam Gambhir is believed to have said, “Bahut ho gaya (I’ve had enough) in his dressing room speech, with the dressing room environment being ‘far from ideal’.
Speaking to IANS, the 1983 World Cup veteran said, “Rift… look, when you lose, rumours do tend to spread outside. What’s the truth in it? We don’t know anything about it – what is it, what is this rift? If I find out that there’s a rift going on, then we can understand about it. What is the rift for? On which point or question is there a rift?”
“This is not normal; they (media) just talk like this. Otherwise, if you see, how are these dressing room discussions leaked? Rift? What is a rift? We should know what the rift is, right? I mean, knowing through social media or the press doesn’t make it certain. Either someone openly says, ‘This is it, this is the rift’. Are you sure there’s a rift? I’m not sure. You’re not sure. Even those talking nonsense on TV- are they sure? What sources do they have? What proof do they have?” he questioned.
Amid speculation of unrest in the dressing room following a huge loss in the Boxing Day Test, Gambhir clarified in a presser that it were “just reports, not truth”.
The 73-year-old veteran stated that if such rumours are true, it is not a positive sign for the team. He emphasised the importance of the team sitting down to discuss and resolve the issues for the overall betterment of the side.
“At the moment all these rumours are not good for the team. We have a good team, but the only thing is, there’s always the possibility of sitting down and talking. If you can square the series with just one match, sit down and talk professionally. You’re not an amateur player. You’re a professional and have been playing for a long time.
“If these things are happening, then this is very bad. I’m sorry. They are very mature players, and if they are behaving like this, I think it’s not a good sign for Indian cricket. You can always sort everything out in the room. What more do you need? Nobody is bigger than the game. What does the team need? That’s what should be done,” he added.
India, after a huge win in the series opener, are currently trailing 1-2 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Reflecting on India’s performance, the former pacer admitted that the team did commit mistakes in the series that cost them matches and also urged the top-order batters to score some runs.
“We have made mistakes in the series. Our top batsmen haven’t scored runs. For example, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have only managed one century. Rishabh Pant hasn’t been scoring runs either. These are the three main batsmen, and if they don’t perform, it becomes very difficult. The only consistent batsmen are Jaiswal and Nitish Reddy,” he said.
He continued, “We missed opportunities in the last Test match. We had a chance and managed to get back into the game, but then we let the tailenders, the number 10 and 11 batsmen, score so many runs. That’s where we lost the game. A target of 340 was always going to be a big total to chase. If they hadn’t scored those runs, the target would have been around 250-260, and we might have won the Test match.
“We also dropped catches at crucial moments. And Australia, they took those chances. On the last day, Australia caught every single opportunity and bowled exceptionally well. That’s how they won the match. If your top batsmen don’t score runs – I’m not saying everyone needs to score, but out of the top three, at least one or two need to step up and deliver.”
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