Everything is “under control” in the Team India dressing room. Such was the riposte from head coach Gautam Gambhir when queried about a recent report that cited his annoyance over the performance of some Indian cricketers in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
According to Gambhir, there were just a few “honest” conversations in the dressing room. “I don’t think I need to answer to any reports. There were some honest words. That’s all I can say.
“Honesty is extremely important if you want to go on and achieve some great things,” Gambhir said on Thursday, the eve of India’s must-win fifth and final Test in Sydney.
Gambhir, however, also retorted that conversations between a player and a coach should remain in the confines of the dressing room. “... It’s not like the debate between a player and a coach should be known to everybody. It should just be between them.
“You just see the results. And, fortunately or unfortunately, this sport is known only for the results. But as for the conversations between the individuals in the dressing room, they should stay there.”
In spite of the team’s disappointing showing in crucial phases of the series that has them trailing 1-2, Gambhir believes Team India are still quite capable of winning the Sydney Test and deny Australia a series win.
“If someone had said 40-45 days ago that we would be in this situation, that we can come to Sydney and draw the series, I think it’s a good position to be in. And I don’t think so that anything is out of control,” Gambhir stated.
“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 that anything is worrisome.
“We know we’ve got the skill set. We’ve got the individuals. We’ve got everything in that dressing room that can win a Test match here (Sydney). Not only here, probably go on to do some unbelievable things in the future as well,” Gambhir emphasised.
Talking about how individuals need to strike a balance between playing their natural game and adapt to match situations, the head coach said: “It’s the team-first ideology that matters.
“It’s a team sport and you’ve got to play according to the team’s needs. That’s as simple as it can get. People can play the natural game. But still, it’s the team that’s important.
“In a team sport, individuals only contribute. But, I don’t want to talk about individuals. I think everyone knows where they are.
“As I just mentioned, in a team sport, it’s only the team (that matters). You have to expect players to do what the team needs you to.”
India’s XI at the Sydney Cricket Ground will, in all likelihood, sport a different look with Shubman Gill having a fair chance to return to the top order. Like some of his batting colleagues, Gill too hasn’t had a great time on this Australian tour.
Gambhir, however, backed all the players who have struggled so far. “First of all, all the individuals know which area they have to work on. And it’s not like I’m talking about individuals here because ultimately, you win as a team and lose as a team.
“When you’re playing for your country, everyone tries to contribute their maximum. So, that’s important,” he said.
Despite its ups and downs, Indian cricket will always be in “safe hands”, Gambhir believes. “I think Indian cricket will always be in safe hands till the time you’ve
got honest people sitting in that room. Honesty is the most important thing for
any transition.”
