The once celebrated unity of the Indian cricket team now seems to be crumbling with reports of a fractured dressing room under coach Gautam Gambhir doing the rounds on social media amid the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
A scathing report in The Australian painted a bleak picture, alleging a tussle not only between India's senior players but also among stand-in players on the tour of Australia, which worsened after their humiliating loss in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (MCG).
The spat between Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma is causing turmoil in the dressing room
Gautam Gambhir, whose stint as India's coach was marred by disappointing results, is said to be not on good terms with skipper Rohit Sharma. The tense relationship between Gambhir and Rohit has spilled over into the entire Indian cricket team, with even stand-ins feeling alienated and ignored during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
A report in The Australian claimed that an Indian reserve player admitted at a kebab shop that neither coach Gautam Gambhir nor skipper Rohit Sharma had spoken to him, exposing deep cracks in the team. The report also claimed that things were not well between the captain and the coach.
India's disappointing performance since Gambhir's appointment has only fueled the fire. Starting with an ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka, a humiliating home Test against New Zealand, and now squandering their chance to retain the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Gambhir's tenure has raised questions about his leadership on and off the field.
The Indian cricket team is facing struggles on the tour of Australia
Particularly troubling is the comparison with former coaches Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid, when the dressing room flourished with harmony and unity during their tenure. Now those golden days appear to be over, as internal conflicts have affected India's performance. Tensions reached a boiling point, and whispers about miscommunication and favoritism added fuel to the fire.
The author of the report wrote: “I bumped into a reserve in the Indian team at a kebab shop at 1:45 a.m. the night before a Test. After explaining why he needed a late-night meal, he asked me if Captain Rohit had ever mentioned him to me.” time during the tour.
Did Guti (Gambhir) Bhai say anything about me to you?” The poor fellow cut off and frowned as he lowered his head and said, “Nobody says anything to me in the team. Neither the captain nor the coach.”
Notably, the Indian pace trio of Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed were initially selected as reserve players for the ongoing five-match Test series in Australia. However, all three have since returned home, focusing on domestic cricket duties at home.
Mukesh Kumar has returned to Bengal and is participating in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, while Navdeep Saini has also resumed playing for Delhi in the 50-over tournament.
On the other hand, Khaleel Ahmed, who played his last match against Australia A in early November, has returned to India but is yet to feature in any domestic or competitive match since his return.