Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir were questioned about discord and lack of cohesion in the running of the team during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia at a review meeting in Mumbai on Saturday evening, sources told The Telegraph.
India lost the five-match series 1-3.
Both the captain and the coach appeared before a panel at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel to discuss the debacle which was also attended, among others, by chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar. The BCCI brass, comprising interim secretary
Devajit Saikia, was present at the post-mortem. Former Board secretary and current ICC chairman Jay Shah was reportedly also part of the deliberations.
That such a review meeting would take place was reported by The Telegraph during the final Test.
Allegations of lack of communication between Rohit and Gambhir after the first Test have dominated the headlines with the captain deciding to opt out of the Sydney game because of lack of runs.
Gambhir was the first to leave the meeting before taking a late evening flight back to New Delhi.
The non-performance of Rohit and Virat Kohli in Australia came up for discussion and the captain is believed to have said that he was going through a bad patch.
The role of the support staff was also talked about.
It is understood that the BCCI is not contemplating taking any drastic step now and could discuss the transition process with the selection committee and the head coach after the Champions Trophy starting on February 19.
Shami returns
Mohammed Shami will make his much-anticipated return to international cricket during the opening T20I against England at Eden Gardens on January 22.
The fast bowler last played for India in the final of the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023.
The 15-member squad for the five matches against England doesn’t include Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who all have been rested following the gruelling Australia tour. Sanju Samson is the first-choice wicketkeeper in the Suryakumar Yadav-led squad along with Dhruv Jurel.
The national selectors met in Mumbai on Saturday and decided to test Shami’s match fitness in a T20I before including him in the 50-over squad.
It is understood that a call on his inclusion for the three ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy will depend on how Shami performs in the T20Is.
The deadline for submitting the provisional squad for the Champions Trophy is Sunday. The BCCI may request the ICC for an extension or make a formal announcement later after sending the list within the specified period.
There is still no clear indication on the nature of Jasprit Bumrah’s back spasm which prevented him from playing the final Test in Australia. India will decide on their
XV for the ICC tournament once the fitness status of Bumrah is available.
The selectors are not going to risk Bumrah for the limited-overs tournament if there’s any chance of the pacer aggravating his injury. India will be playing nine matches this
year as part of the new World Test Championship cycle, including a five-Test series
in England.
The selectors decided to pick Shami after he was cleared by the Nitin Patel-headed medical panel at the Centre of Excellence.
Shami returned to domestic cricket in a Ranji Trophy match for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh, bowling 43 overs. He played all nine of Bengal’s T20 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and featured in only three of the seven one-day games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Batting all-rounder Riyan Parag was not selected because of a shoulder injury.