Relationship with Gambhir, BCCI's diktat and more: Biggest talking points from Rohit Sharma's press conference

India skipper Rohit Sharma and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday as the Men in Blue's squads for the ODI series against England and the 2025 Champions Trophy were revealed. The press conference was delayed by more than two hours and as far as India’s squad for the Champions Trophy is concerned, there weren’t many surprises barring Mohammed Siraj’s exclusion.

Arshdeep Singh was preferred over Siraj, whereas Mohammed Shami also features in the squad along with Jasprit Bumrah, who will test his fitness by playing the third ODI against England. One of the discussed topics during the press conference was the BCCI’s 10-point policy to all those players who are centrally contracted players.

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This includes the players and coaching staff being allowed to bring their families on tour only for a limited period, and another policy is that of the players being asked to play domestic matches while not in action for Team India. Just as Rohit and Agarkar seated themselves for the press conference, the former could be heard telling the latter about the family policy.

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It’s not known if this was intentional or by mistake from the India captain. “Ab mere ko baithna padega Secretary ke saath family wamily ka discuss karne ke liye, sab mere ko bol rahe hai yaar” (I will have to sit with the secretary to discuss the family policy. Everyone is telling me)," he could be heard telling Agarkar.

‘Who told you about this?’

Rohit, however, seemed to take back his statement when he was directly asked about this in the press conference.

“Who told you about these rules? Has it come from the official handle of the BCCI? Let it come officially," he said. The point of team bonding exercises and players’ availability were among the points of discussion during the recent BCCI review meeting, which Rohit, Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir, new secretary Devajit Saikia attended along with other top BCCI officials.

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One of the other points of discussion during the review meeting were that the players were spending more time with their families than with teammates when there was no match going on. The BCCI, in its 10-point policy, stated that for tours which go on for more than 45 days, the players’ partners and children can be with the team for not more than two weeks. This was subject to agreement by the head coach, captain and the GM Operations.

There were also reports of tension within the Indian dressing room during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. Some reports also stated that there were disagreements between Rohit and Gambhir on several aspects, and Rohit even contemplated retiring from Tests after the Boxing Day Test against Australia. This decision, however, reportedly made Gambhir unhappy.

‘Both of us are very clear…’: Rohit on his terms with Gambhir

“Both of us are very clear in what we want to do. I’m not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind every game tactically, but it’s very clear in my mind, and Gautam Gambhir is somebody who, once we enter the field, trusts what the captain is doing on the field. The basic talks that happen are only off the field, in the ground or maybe the changing room.

“But once we take the field, it’s all about what I do on the field. That’s the kind of trust we have in each other, and that’s how it should be. That’s about it,” Rohit said when he was asked about the disagreements with Gambhir.

Rohit also confirmed that he will be playing for Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir that starts from 23 January. “It’s nothing new for me. I’m used to these kinds of changes because this isn’t happening for me now. It’s been for such a long period of time because when you play all three formats, you have to adjust to all kinds of formats. Sometimes you prepare for a red-ball competition, and then suddenly there’s a T20 format. There’s nothing new about it,” Rohit said.

“If you look at our calendar for the last 6-7 years, we haven’t had time where we sit at home for 45 days. We have IPL also. Domestic happens in February-March, and at that time, we have been playing a lot of cricket. When you play so much international cricket, you need some time off to refresh, physically and mentally. Nobody takes it for granted," he added.

The selectors preferred Arshdeep Singh over Mohammed Siraj for the Champions Trophy. Siraj has been inconsistent recently, but Arshdeep is enjoying a fine form, having taken 20 wickets from seven wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

“Siraj is not there. While we are not sure about Bumrah, we wanted an option of someone who can bowl with both the new and old ball. We wanted Arshdeep to play that role. Shami, we know what he can do. That is where we thought Siraj’s effectiveness comes down a bit if he is not given the new ball," Rohit said on Siraj's omission . “We picked guys who can perform certain roles. We have bowlers who can bowl with the new ball, bowl in middle overs, and be effective at the death. Arshdeep hasn’t played a lot of ODIs, but he has been there enough to handle that pressure.

“Shami is a stalwart, and what he did in the World Cup was superb. Harshit brings something different. He has shown potential. It is hard to ignore numbers, but look at Jaiswal; we have picked him on the basis of his form and potential,” added Rohit.