Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir believes that players should be available for all formats.

“I’m a very strong believer in one thing, that if you’re good, you should be playing all the three formats,” Gambhir said on Star Sports, his first interview since being appointed as head coach.

He said a cricketer should not avoid playing a format because of the risk of injury. “I’ve never been a big believer (in) injury management... you get injured, you go get recovered... as simple as it gets.

“Injuries are part of a sportsman’s life. And if you’re playing all the three formats, you get injured, you go back, get recovered, but you should be playing all the three formats,” he stated.

His tenure starts with the upcoming white ball series in Sri Lanka later this month.

“When you’re playing international cricket and you’re good enough, you ask any of the top players, they want to play all the three formats. They don’t want to stay and they don’t want to be labelled as red ball bowler or white ball bowler.

“I am not a big believer in identifying people that we’re going to keep him for Test matches or other formats. We’re going to manage his injury and workload and stuff.

“Professional cricketers, you’ve got a very small span when you’re playing for your country and you want to play as much as you can. And when you’re in very good form, go ahead and play all the three formats,” Gambhir said.

He put the team ahead of individual performances. “There’s only one message, try and play with honesty. Try and be as honest as you can to your profession. Obviously, results will follow.

“When I picked up the bat, I never thought of results. I never thought that I’m going to score these many runs. I’ve always believed that I have to be as honest as I can to my profession... Live on certain principles, live on certain values.

“Try and do the right things. Try and do things even if you think the whole world is against you. But your heart believes that you’re doing the right thing for the best interest of the team.

“Whether I’ve been aggressive on the cricket field, whether I’ve had confrontations with people, just because it was all in the best interest of the team. Try and do that, because ultimately it’s the team that matters, not an individual.

“So, go out there and only think of one thing... that try and make your team win. Whichever team you play for, because that is what team sports demands. It is a team sport, the team that comes first.”