Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir issued a strong message to the management about overall communication to all the players, specifically the young talent eyeing a spot on the national side. He clarified that the management does not want to “drop” anyone but wants to choose the best XI possible.
Gambhir Focused On Building The Perfect Playing XI
“It will always be a challenge because there is so much (in Indian cricket) and ultimately, you can only select XI. But if you can select an XI, it can do the job for you (that’s all that matters). And I have been a firm believer that we don’t drop anyone. We select anyone. So there’s a way of looking at things,” Gambhir told Jio Cinema.
Players like Sarfaraz Khan and Dhurv Jurel, who did very well in the England Test series much earlier this year when the senior combination was missing including players of the caliber of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant were not considered for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh where seniors had come back to the team. Gambhir said the reasons were not related to the dropping of players but to perfect the combination of the team.
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“A lot of people from outside might think that he’s been dropped, but it’s not about dropping someone. It’s about selecting someone else to do the job for the team. If the other person can do the job for the team, then people will have to wait for their opportunities. That’s how cricket goes. Sometimes, you have to wait for a much longer period of time than you should. Once you get the opportunity, you should be absolutely ready to grab it.”
Clear & Straightforward Communication
Coming after the age of Rahul Dravid, who had stepped down after India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup, Gambhir began with a sweep against Sri Lanka in the T20Is, though he suffered a reverse in the ODIs. India won the first Test in Chennai quite comfortably in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh. Gambhir highlighted that he, Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar are working as a unit as they know how it feels to get dropped from the team.
“One thing I can assure you is that there will be very clear and straightforward communication. I think the coach, the captain and the chairman of selectors should be on the same page rather than having different communications from different people. That is not how we plan to work. I know how vulnerable a sportsman can be. You literally live on the edge if you don’t get paid or if you get dropped… I know how tough it is for a player. I have experienced it, Rohit has experienced it, the chairman of selectors must have experienced it. So, when you have experienced such things, you try and help the guy by giving him the right message and that is what’s gonna happen this time.”
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