Team India Press Conference Highlights: Gambhir, Agarkar On T20I Captaincy Row, Virat-Rohit Future
Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Highlights: Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar shed light on the future of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and the T20I captaincy controversy.
Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Highlights:Â India head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar spoke to the media in their first briefing together. Right at the start of the press conference, Agarkar explained the reason behind Suryakumar Yadav's appointment as the captain of India's T20I team. Agarkar explained that Hardik's fitness issues and inconsistent availability was the reason behind him not getting the job after Rohit Sharma retired from the format. Gambhir, speaking to media, also shed light on his relationship with Virat Kohli, which has been a subject of chatter for a long time.Â
Here are the Highlights from Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar's press conference as Team India head coach from Mumbai:
- 12:04 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference: 7 Big Revelations MadeHere the 7 most important topics touched upon by Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar in the press conference: Gautam Gambhir Press Conference: 7 Big Revelations Made By India Head Coach And Chief Selector
- 10:34 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gambhir On Mohammed Shami’s Return"He has started to bowl. The first Test is 19th September. That was always the goal (him making a comeback by that time). Whether he can make it back to the squad by that time, I'll have to speak with the guys at the NCA."
- 10:27 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gambhir On His Relationship With Virat Kohli"What kind of a relationship with Virat Kohli is not for TRP. At the moment, we are representing India, we are representing 140 crore Indians. We have an excellent relationship with him off the field. But, it's not for the public. It's not important how many chats I've had with him during or after the game. He is a thorough professional, a world class athlete, and hopefully he will continue that way."
- 10:25 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gambhir On Bumrah, Rohit, Virat’s Workload"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."
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- 10:21 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gambhir On His Mantra In Dressing Room"I think important is to give players the freedom, that's what I absolutely believe in and not having a relationship which is of a head coach and a player. I think for me, the best relationship is a relationship which is built on trust and that is going to be very important. I can promise guys that they will always have my back. I've always said that a happy dressing room is a winning dressing. That's my responsibility alongside the entire support staff to make it a happy and secure dressing room. I don't complicate too many things and neither do I want to complicate."
- 10:20 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Agarkar On Abhishek Sharma And Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Snub"I mean, any player who is dropped will feel hard done by. But our job is to only pick 15. Look at Rinku, he performed really well ahead of the T20 World Cup, but couldn't make the cut. We can only pick 15."
- 10:19 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Agarkar On Rishabh Pant, KL RahulRishabh 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.
- 10:17 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Agarkar On Gill’s Leadership Role
Shubman Gill is the guy we feel is a 3-format player. Has shown a lot more qualities over the last year or so, that’s what we hear from the dressing room. He has shown some decent leadership qualities. We want to try and give him the experience, though there are no guarantees.
- 10:15 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gambhir On Virat, Rohit’s Future
Both of them have a lot of cricket. Hopefully, if they can continue their fitness, 2027 World Cup isn’t far. Can’t say how much cricket Virat and Rohit have left in them, it’s the team that matters.
- 10:12 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gambhir On India’s Test Schedule
After the Sri Lanka tour, we got a long break and then we have 10 Test matches. That’s what the challenge is all about. Hopefully we can do well in these 10 Test matches. Jadeja is important for those 10 Test matches. Looking forward to those 10 matches.
- 10:11 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Agarkar On Ravindra Jadeja’s absenceEvery player who misses out feels hard done by. Sometimes that's how it goes, it's difficult to fit everyone in the 15. It's about making the most of the opportunities. Rinku missed out on T20 World Cup because of no fault of his own. Pointless to take both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja in the same short series. He wasn't dropped. He is likely to feature in the Test series. He is still within the scheme of things and an important player.
- 10:08 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Gautam Gambhir On His Vision"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."
- 10:05 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Ajit Agarkar On Hardik Pandya's CaseAjit Agarkar on Suryakumar Yadav being made T20I skipper over Hardik Pandya: "We want a captain who can play all of the games. His skillset is difficult to find. Fitness has been a challenge for him. It becomes difficult for a coach and a selector. We have time till the next T20 World Cup. Fitness is a clear challenge. We want someone who is likely to be available more often than not. Surya has the qualities needed to succeed as a captain."
- 09:55 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Does Yuzvendra Chahal Have A Team India Future?
Unarguably one of the finest spinners in the world, Yuzvendra Chahal wasn’t picked in either India’s T20I or ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour. He was a part of the team’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, though he didn’t feature in a single game. What does the non-selection for the Sri Lanka series mean for his future?
- 09:31 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Is Shubman Gill A Certainty In T20Is?
The fact that Shubman Gill has been named Team India’s vice-captain in T20Is, many wonder if he is a certain pick in T20Is. Gill wasn’t in the best of form in the shortest format over the last year or so. With Abhishek Sharma and Ruturaj Gaikwad also vying for the opening spot, should Gill have been given the role of Suryakumar’s deputy?
- 09:11 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: What Next For Ravindra Jadeja?
India’s premier spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja finds himself in an uncharted territory, with little awareness about what holds for him in the future. Jadeja wasn’t picked for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar making the cut. What does that mean for Jadeja’s ODI future?
- 09:03 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Why Shubman Gill As White-Ball Vice-Captain?Shubman Gill didn't even make India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad, yet has been named the vice-captain for the shortest format, with Suryakumar Yadav the skipper. Gill isn't someone who has shone the brightest as an opening batter in the shortest format over the last year or so. He only took over the captaincy responsibility at Gujarat Titans, his India Premier League side, this year, and didn't impress many with his leadership attributes. Gill was also made Team India's vice-captain for ODIs against Sri Lanka. Expect Gambhir to explain this decision of his and the selectors'.
- 08:52 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: Hardik’s T20I Captaincy Snub Biggest Talking Point
As soon as Gautam Gambhir sits on the hot seat in the press conference, the first question expected to fly towards him is the decision to snub Hardik Pandya as the captain of the T20I side. With Hardik being Team India’s designated vice-captain under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, he was the natural successor. But, it all changed as Gambhir took charge.
- 08:41 (IST)Gautam Gambhir Press Conference Live: India Head Coach In SpotlightHello and welcome to our live coverage of Gautam Gambhir's press conference from Mumbai. The India head coach speaks to reporters for the first time since taking over the job, with the BCCI selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar beside him. Expect some gruelling questions to be answered today.
India Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir
Hardik Pandya