India head coach Gautam Gambhir on February 2 adressed reports of rift in the Indian dressing room following the Border-Gavaskar series defeat on Australian soil. Gambhir did not divulge any details and hit back at reports of rift in the Indian camp. He also said that these reports are fickle as once the team starts performing well, everything will vanish.
"They have played a lot of cricket with each other. More importantly, a month back, there were a couple of other rumours flying around (laughs). That's what Indian cricket is all about. There will be so many things said about the dressing room when things are not going okay. But once results start going in your favour, things start falling in place," Gambhir told Star Sports after India beat England by 150 runs in the fifth T20I to win the series 4-1.
Gambhir defended the players who have been facing widespread criticism for series defeats against New Zealand and Australia.
"These are an incredible bunch of players. They enjoy themselves, they want to play for their country, they love playing for their country, and they know what it means to represent 140 crore Indians," the former India opener added.
Gambhir wants aggressive batting from senior duo
Gambhir wants his senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to play with an aggressive approach in the upcoming ODI series against England as it will help them prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
“We are now getting two quality players (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma) back in who've got a phenomenal record in one-day cricket. Hopefully they can come in and deliver and probably try and be as aggressive and positive as they can,” said the 43-year-old.
Gambhir praises Abhishek
Gambhir lauded opener Abhishek Sharma who broke the record for highest individual score by an Indian batter in T20Is. He admitted that it is the best T20 hundred he has ever seen considering the quality of opposition bowlers.
"I haven't seen a T20 hundred like this. And against an attack like this where you've got Jofra Archer and Mark Wood bowling at 150 consistently. Yeah, you might see a lot of T20 hundreds in IPL, but the quality of the attack, which was in front of him and for a young boy, I think taking them on from ball one was probably the best," he said.
The ODI series will begin on February 6 in Nagpur.