From Suryakumar’s captaincy to relationship with Virat; key highlights from Gambhir’s first presser as head coach

By: Aditya Ahuja

Newly appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir addressed his first press conference in Mumbai since taking over the job earlier this month, with BCCI selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar beside him. This comes ahead of his first assignment with the national team – the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, where India will play three T20Is and three ODIs.

In the presser, Gambhir and Agarkar gave answere to various pressing questions, including the recent leadership change in the T20I team, with Suryakumar Yadav named captain and Hardik Pandya, who was Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the T20 World Cup win, not retaining the role. Gambhir also discussed the future for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the two seniors who retired from the shortest format after the T20 World Cup win last month.

Suryakumar over Hardik for T20I leadership

On the decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain over Hardik Pandya, Agarkar clarified, “Such decisions are not taken at the last minute. A lot of thought and planning goes into it. Fitness was a clear challenge, and we wanted someone who was likely to be available more often. We also took general feedback from the dressing room. He is one of the best T20 batters, and as captain, he is likely to play all the games. We think he is a deserving captain, and we will see how he leads the team.”

Addressing Pandya’s fitness

Agarkar acknowledged the challenges but expressed confidence in managing Pandya’s workload better. “Regarding Hardik, he’s still a very important player for us. Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him, which makes it difficult for the coach or selectors.”

Jadeja’s ODI snubbing

The chief selector confirmed that Ravindra Jadeja has not been dropped from the ODI squad. “Jadeja is a very important player for us, especially with a long Test season coming up. There is no point in picking both Axar and Jadeja as one would have been benched anyway,” he said.

SKY’s ODI prospects

SKY’s case is peculiar; he was deemed an ‘X Factor’ player by former coach Rahul Dravid, but the 34-year-old could only muster 106 runs at an average of 17.66, his highest score being 49 against England.

Agarkar highlighted that Suryakumar’s name had not been discussed for ODIs. “Both Shreyas and Rahul had a stellar run in the ODI World Cup, and with Pant back in contention, they will find it hard to fit in SKY into the middle order in the fifty-over format, he said.

Workload management of star players

Speaking on managing the workload of India’s bowling spearshead, Jasprit Bumrah, Gambhir said, “I’ve said it before, workload management for someone like Jasprit (Bumrah) is important. He is a rare bowler, which anyone would want. You want him to play important games. That’s why workload management for not just him but all fast bowlers is important,” Gambhir said.

He further said that he expects Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to be available for most of the India matches, knowing they have retired from the T20Is for India

Mantra as coach

Commenting on his vision for Team India, Gambhir said, “I am taking over a very, very successful team. T20 World champions, runners-up in the WTC and ODI World Cup. I have a fabulous relationship with Jay Shah, and all these speculations about different things – we can do a better job by clarifying a few things than putting these things in the media. The betterment of Gautam Gambhir is not important; Indian cricket is,” Gambhir emphatically said.

“It’s all about winning. I don’t deviate from something like that. A happy dressing room is a winning dressing room. I don’t like to complicate things. Ultimately, it’s the players’ team. We need to try to keep them happy, and that’s one thing that we definitely will be working towards,” Gambhir emphasized.

Future of Rohit, Kohli

Deliberating the future of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Gambhir said, “I think they’ve shown what they can deliver on the big stage whether it was the T20 World Cup and in the 50 over World cup as well. I think both those guys have got a lot of cricket left in them and more importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia, obviously they would be motivated enough and then hopefully they can keep their fitness till the 2027 World Cup as well. This is a very personal decision.”

“Any team would want to have both of them for as long as possible.” Gambhir added.

Gambhir on his relationship with Virat

Gambhir and Kohli have quite a history in the IPL, with their interactions heating up more than once. However, Gambhir stressed that his relationship with the batting mainstay, Virat Kohli, is a private matter and not for TRPs.

“At the moment, we are representing India; we are representing 140 crore Indians. We have an excellent relationship off the field. But it’s not for the public. It’s not important how many chats I’ve had with him during or after the game. He is a thorough professional, a world-class athlete, and hopefully, he will continue that way,” Gambhir said.

Gill as deputy in white ball

Despite missing the T20 World Cup squad, Shubman Gill has been appointed as India’s T20 vice-captain under Suryakumar Yadav. This decision comes even though Gill’s recent T20 form and his captaincy stint at Gujarat Titans were unimpressive.

When questioned about the exclusion of former vice- captain KL Rahul, Agarkar clarified, “I wasn’t there when KL was superseded,” distancing himself from previous selection decisions.

Building three teams for three formats

Addressing the much-talked-about point of Gambhir wanting to build three separate teams for different formats, the head coach highlighted, “See, eventually these things happen. Transitions happen. We don’t have Rohit and Virat in T20Is now. But it won’t be like we have three different teams.”

Supporting Gambhir, Agarkar said that he is on the same page, underscoring, “Yeah, we don’t plan on that. We just need to find the right combination of players who can suit across different formats.”

Shami’s injury update

Agarkar gave a very positive update on senior pacer Mohammed Shami’s fitness, saying the aim is to have him back for the India vs Bangladesh Test series in September.

“He has started to bowl. The first Test is 19th September. That was always the goal (for him to make a comeback by that time). Whether he can make it back to the squad by that time, I’ll have to speak with the guys at the NCA,” Gambhir said.

Shami has been sidelined since the ODI World Cup 2023 in which he finished as the leading wicket-taker. The right-arm pacer missed a lot of action for the national team with a right heel injury.

Support staff appointments

Talking about the support staff of the Indian team, Gambhir said, “We can’t finalize yet. But people like Ryan (Ten Doeschate) and Abhishek (Nayar) are among those I’ve worked with. I’ve got some really good feedback from the players about other candidates as well.”

He further mentioned that they have a one-month break after the Sri Lanka tour, so they will have ample time to make a final call.

Youngsters’ selection policy

Discussing Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Ruturaj Gaikwad not being picked, Agarkar stressed that it is not possible to select everyone. He added that all need to keep scoring runs consistently to play for the country.