 "Gautam Gambhir is known for his confrontational ways as a player and hasn't changed his demeanour as India head coach either. AP")
India are set to begin their campaign in the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy on Thursday when they face Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. However, if the latest reports are anything to do by, then things aren’t exactly in an ideal state as far as the atmosphere in the Indian dressing room is concerned ahead of the big match.
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According to Times Now, an active Indian wicketkeeper-batter is frustrated with head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the Men in Blue’s Champions Trophy opener. The concerned keeper-batter is also miffed with ‘GG’ as he believes he has been left out of the playing XI due to external factors, and not because of his current form.
Rishabh Pant the player unhappy with Gautam Gambhir?
Though the report did not mention any names, it certainly does hint at Rishabh Pant being the senior player unhappy with Gambhir and his selection policies. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee had included both Rahul and Pant in the squad for the recently-concluded ODI series against England as well as the Champions Trophy.
However, Rahul had kept wickets in the England one-dayers and captain Rohit Sharma has indicated that he will continue to don that role, at Pant’s expense, in the ‘Mini World Cup’.
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Pant was once an indispensable part of the Indian playing XI across formats, succeeding MS Dhoni as the preferred wicketkeeper-batter across formats after the latter retired from international cricket in 2019. As a result of his rise, KL Rahul largely played purely as a batter despite being an able stumper.
Rahul, however, had filled in as the wicket-keeper in Pant’s absence after the latter had met with an accident in December 2022 that forced him to remain sidelined for more than a year.
Impact Shorts
View AllAnd though the selectors have continued to stick with Pant as the first-choice keeper for Tests and have leaned towards Sanju Samson in the shortest format, Rahul has managed to keep himself ahead in the pecking order in the 50-over game thanks to his heroics in the 2023 ICC World Cup at home — which he scored 452 runs at an average of 75.33 and was also the second-most successful keeper (17 dismissals).