Gautam Gambhir press conference Highlights: India coach, Agarkar explain tough decisions

That’s all that the newly appointed India coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector had to say about their decisions and the squad for the Sri Lanka series. The series begins on Saturday with the first T20I. Join us then for our coverage and before that, stick around for everything from the world of sport.

Gambhir has elaborated on the support staff for the Indian team. “We can’t finalise yet. But people like Ryan (Ten Doeschate) and Abhishek (Nayar) are someone I’ve worked with. I’ve got some really good feedback from the players as well about the other guys as well.”

So it is Abhishek and Ryan as assistant coaches, Sairaj Bahutule and T Dilip will travel to Sri Lanka. Morne Morkel, meanwhile, is expected to join before the Bangladesh series. No official word on the former South Africa seamer though

“I’ve said it before, workload management for someone like Jasprit (Bumrah) is important. He is one rare bowler, which anyone would want. You want him to play important games. That’s why the workload management for not just him but fast bowlers is important.

“If you are a batter, who’s batting well, you might as well just play all formats. Rohit and Virat have retired from T20Is now, so they will play two formats from now. Hopefully they are available for most of the games.”

“Rishabh has been out for a long time. So we want to bring him back without burdening him. Someone who has come back after a long time, you need to bring them back in the scheme of things gradually.

KL, one of the feedbacks he has got is ‘you’ve got to hit the reset button’. Shubman is an all-format player, that’s how we see him.”

Gautam Gambhir speaks to the media in his first press conference as India coach. Image: JioCinema

Gautam Gambhir: “I am taking over a very very successful team. T20 World champions, runners-up In 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 media. The betterment of Gautam Gambhir is not important, Indian cricket is.”

Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar address the media. Image: Disney+ Hotstar

Gautam Gambhir says it is important to give players the freedom and wants trust from the players. “They will always have my back,” says the new India coach. “I’m taking over a very successful team – T20 world champions, runners up in World Test Championship and runners up in ODI World Cup”

With Gambhir’s support staff yet to be officially announced, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made a temporary arrangement, appointing Sairaj Bahutule, associated with the National Cricket Academy (NCA), as the interim bowling coach for the Sri Lanka series. Morne Morkel is expected to join the team and form part of Gambhir’s support staff after the series.

Bahutule (51) will work alongside Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches. T Dilip will continue to be the fielding coach.

As per a ESPNCricinfo report, here are the big takeaways and insider thoughts behind the decisions:

– Jadeja has been rested from ODIs and not dropped
– Selectors want to give Axar a chance in the 50-over format
– Selectors want to keep Jadeja fresh for Tests
– Shami in consideration for the 2025 Champions Trophy
– Kuldeep rested from T20Is
– Selectors want Bishnoi to gain experience
– Chahal remains backup
– Pandya wanted to be rested from ODIs
– KL Rahul key for ODIs, Tests, not T20Is

The press conference will be live streamed on Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.

As per ESPNCricinfo, Jadeja has been assured by the selectors that he’s been rested and not dropped from the ODI team. Remember he had retired from the T20Is after the World Cup.

There are reportedly two reasons behind Jadeja’s absence:

“Both the selectors and (newly appointed coach) [Gautam] Gambhir are keen to give Axar Patel a chance in ODIs and see if he can play the same role he has successfully performed in T20Is. With just three ODIs in the Sri Lanka series, the selectors and Gambhir agreed that having two left-arm spin-bowling allrounders would be a surplus,” the report said.

“The second reason is that Jadeja is a key member of India’s Test line-up both home and away, a crucial cog in balancing their XI. India are scheduled to play 10 Tests—five at home and five in Australia—from September 2023 to January 2024, and they are looking to keep Jadeja, who is 35 and has missed a number of matches with injury over the last three years, as fresh as possible for those matches.”

Before we move any further, a look at the squads that were announced for the Sri Lanka series which comprises three T20Is and three ODIs

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

Burning questions for Gautam Gambhir (and Ajit Agarkar):

– Why was Hardik Pandya not appointed T20I captain

– Why Shubman Gill was chosen vice-captain in both formats

– What is Ravindra Jadeja’s ODI future