Gautam Gambhir Press Conference: The Indian cricket team is going through a transition and it starts from the upcoming white ball series against Sri Lanka, starting from July 27. A new coach -- Gautam Gambhir -- along with new skipper Suryakumar Yadav (T20Is) will be at the helm and it will be interesting to see how they drive the team forward.
Ahead of the team's departure to the island nation, coach Gambhir along with BCCI chief selector, also a former Indian medium-pacer, Ajit Agarkar, addressed a press conference in Mumbai. Burning questions were thrown at the coach and the selector and in this article we take a look at the key takeaways from the same:
Suryakumar over Hardik
Starting with the big question, which is India's new T20I captaincy choice. Hardik was Rohit Sharma's deputy at the recently-concluded T20 World Cup and was expected to take over the mantle after the latter's retirement from the shorter format. But it wasn't the case.
On a surprising note, Gambhir along with the management appointed middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav as the new skipper in T20Is, leaving many puzzled. Reports claimed Hardik's fitness was the main reason for the change in plans, and Agarkar confirmed it to be true.
"Fitness has been something that he's (Hardik) struggled with. As selectors, it becomes difficult then. The thought behind it was that we want someone (as captain) who is likely to be available more.
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"We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we've seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup. We speak to every player, about whether their role has changed. And yeah we've spoken to him," said the chief selector.
Relation with Virat
Moving forward Gambhir was also presented with a personal question, asking him to comment on his relation with team's senior player Virat Kohli. The two hotheads on multiple occasions have engaged in heated arguments, thus questions about the way forward was pretty natural.
Gambhir, who is mostly blunt, had a similar take on the same, and commented that talking about the past and their relation is only good for "TRP" and not Indian cricket.
"It is good for the TRP but my relationship with him has been good. What's important is we are representing 140 crore Indians. We've shared messages. It's not important if we have chatted before my announcement or after. He is a world-class player, I have huge respect for him," said Gambhir.
Rohit-Virat 2027 World Cup
The coach also spoke in length about Rohit and Virat's future in limited over format, which in my opinion was the biggest takeaway. Gambhir said that given the talent both Rohit and Virat bring in, he refused to rule out the possibility of including both at the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"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. I can't say how much cricket is left in them.
"Ultimately it's up to them as well. It's up to the players how much can they contribute to the team's success because ultimately it's the team that is important. But looking at what Virat and Rohit can deliver, I think they still have a lot of cricket and they're still world-class players and obviously any team would want to have both of them for as long as possible," said the head coach.
Jadeja's future addressed
Ravindra Jadeja was among the senior pros, who announced his retirement from the T20Is shortly after winning the World Cup. The spinner, who has also proved his handiness with the bat on numerous occasions, was not considered for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka, which led to speculations about his international future.
Throwing light on the subject, Agarkar said: "With an intense Test schedule awaiting the Indian team, the selection committee preferred to give Ravindra Jadeja a break by not selecting him for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Agarkar confirmed that the spin-bowling all-rounder wasn't dropped from the team.
"I think we should have clarified this when we announced the squad. He hasn't been dropped (but rested). There are a lot of Test series coming up, and he will be playing a lot of those."
Gambhir's support staff
Gambhir also confirmed the appointment of Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches. The two reunite with Gambhir after their successful campaign with Kolkata Knight Riders in the latest edition of the Indian Premier League.
Apart from the duo, the coaching staff includes T Dilip, who is the only member to be retained from Rahul Dravid's tenure. Sairaj Bahutule, who works at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru, will serve as the bowling coach for the upcoming series, following which a final decision will be taken.
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