Former cricketers Irfan Pathan, WV Raman and Shreevats Goswami have slammed the leaks from the Team India dressing room which have claimed that head coach Gautam Gambhir has criticised his players’ approach to the Boxing Day Test against Australia which ended in a loss and that a senior player is trying to replace Rohit Sharma as the captain. While Pathan said that dressing room conversations must remain in the dressing room, Goswami too was shocked with how dressing room conversations were leaked to the media.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Gambhir told his players: “Bahut ho gaya (I’ve had enough),” in the Indian dressing room following their 184-run loss to Australia in the Melbourne Test. He also urged players to play according to the match situation and not just their natural game.
‘What happens in dressing room…’: Irfan Pathan
“What happens in the dressing room, should stay in the dressing room!,” Pathan posted on “X”.
What happens in the dressing room, should stay in the dressing room!
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 1, 2025
“How did the dressing room chat gets leaked to the media? This is just not on,” posted Goswami on the same platform. He further said that such discussions should never be made available in the public.
Impact Shorts
View AllDressing room chats are sacred . It should never come out.Last thing you want is trust issues inside the dressing room .I hope the players aren’t listening to outside noise before going in to Sydney test.Let’s stay positive and wish the team the very best .start the new years…
— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) January 1, 2025
India trail Australia 1-2 in the five-match series after their loss in the fourth Test and WV Raman felt that this was not the time for dressing room leaks. “#Teamindia has the chance to draw the #BGT. So, they need to be allowed to get on with their jobs. This is not the time to put out selective leaks and stoke the fire. My humble view," he shared on “X”.
#Teamindia has the chance to draw the #BGT. So, they need to be allowed to get on with their jobs. This is not the time to put out selective leaks and stoke the fire. My humble view. #AUSvINDIA#SCGtest
— WV Raman (@wvraman) January 1, 2025
Unnamed senior player reportedly ready to become interim captain
Regular Team India skipper Rohit Sharma has been criticised for his underwhelming captaincy tactics, with Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar among those questioning. As per the Indian Express, a senior player terming himself “Mr Fix-It” is eager to become an “interim” India captain. This senior player has also stated that youngsters in the team are not ready for leadership roles just yet.
Apart from Rohit, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah are among the other senior players, so it’s anyone’s guess as to who this player could be.
India were without regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the first Test against Australia in Perth, which the visitors won by 295 runs. Jasprit Bumrah had led the side in Rohit’s absence. Rohit, though, returned to action from the second Test onwards, but his form with the bat has been questionable, scoring just 31 runs from six innings.
India can retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a win in the fifth and final Test in Sydney, starting from Friday (3 January). However, their World Test Championship (WTC) final hopes have taken a huge blow, so much so that even a win in Sydney won’t confirm their spot in the final. Should India win the Sydney Test, they will need Sri Lanka to beat Australia 2-0 at home later this year. South Africa had qualified for the WTC final last week after they defeated Pakistan by two wickets in the first Test in Centurion.