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There seems to be some tension in the Indian cricket team’s dressing room after their 184-run loss to Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. According to a report in the Indian Express, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has warned his players of getting dropped from the team if they don’t “toe the line”.
‘Bahut ho gaya’: Gambhir
“Bahut ho gaya (I’ve had enough),” Gambhir reportedly told the players in the dressing room. While Gambhir did not point fingers at any player, Gambhir is not happy with players playing their “natural game” and wants them to play according to the match situation.
IND vs AUS | Five mistakes that cost Rohit Sharma and Co the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne
The former India opener has also said that while he had given freedom to the players to play how they want for the last six months, it will be up to Gambhir now, who will decide their style of play. Those who fail to follow Gambhir’s instructions would be released from the team. The report adds that Gambhir also wanted the out-of-favour Cheteshwar Pujara in the India squad, but the selectors were against that idea. Gambhir had spoken about Pujara even after India’s 295-run win in the first Test in Perth.
Gambhir had taken over as India head coach from Rahul Dravid in July 2024. It has been a mixed outing as coach for Gambhir. While India defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in an away T20I series, they lost the ODI series 0-2 to the same opposition. India then defeated Bangladesh 2-0 and 3-0 in the Test series and T20I series at home, but collapsed 0-3 to New Zealand in another home Test series in November.
Australia are leading the five-match Test series Down Under 2-1 after four matches. India won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs, whereas Australia emerged victorious by 10 wickets in the second Test in Adelaide. That was followed by a drawn Test in Brisbane before Australia took the lead with a dominant win in the fourth Test in Melbourne.
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View AllSenior player ‘ready’ to take over as India captain
The Indian Express has also reported that a senior player, who has not been named, is “ready” to take over as an “interim captain”. The senior player, who calls himself “Mr Fix-it”, is not convinced that the younger players in the squad are ready to take up leadership duties. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma has been criticised for his underwhelming captaincy tactics, with former cricketer Irfan Pathan even saying that he wouldn’t be in the Indian team if he wasn’t the captain.
Apart from captaincy, Rohit is also struggling with his batting form. Rohit, who missed the first Test against Australia due to the birth of his child, has aggregated just 31 runs from six innings at an average of 6.20. Rohit even sacrificed his openers’ spot for KL Rahul in the second and third Tests, but that move backfired big time with Rohit being dismissed for low scores. He returned to the top-order in Melbourne, but Rohit’s fortunes did not change after he was dismissed for 3 and 9. The fifth and final Test in Sydney will begin from 3 January.
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