Between the draw at the Gabba in the third Test and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series defeat in Sydney, a lot of many media reports hinted at a divide in the dressing room. The rumours peaked before the start of the series decider, after it was reported that captain Rohit Sharma “opted out” of the final match. Speculations emerged that Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir did not see eye to eye during the practice session. Following the loss, a report said that Gambhir was not happy after Rohit took a U-turn his decision to retire at the MCG.
However, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla put to bed all speculations and rumours on Monday. He denied any rift between Gambhir and Rohit while also offering support to the skipper, who is currently navigating a major slump in form.
India were defeated 1-3 in the series against Australia, where Rohit managed just 31 runs in five innings. Amid the poor run of form, the 37-year-old decided to take a step back for the match in Sydney, thus dropping himself from the playing XI. It soon sparked rumours of differences with Gambhir and that there was dissension in the dressing room due to his and Virat Kohli’s poor performance on the tour.
“It’s completely wrong statement, there is no rift between chairman of selection (Ajit Agarkar) and coach, there is no rift between captain and coach. This is all rubbish which is being spread in a section of media,” Shukla said in a sharp retort to questions on the team’s dynamics in the aftermath of the loss.
‘It’s wrong that Rohit Sharma insisted on captaincy’
A separate report in Dainik Jagran on Sunday revealed that Rohit told the BCCI officials during the review meeting in Mumbai on Saturday that he will remain as the captain of the Test and ODI team until the selectors find his replacement and that he will have his full support on the choice.
However, Shukla crushed that media report as well, while backing the senior batter to bounce back from his poor run of form.
“This is also wrong that Rohit has insisted on captaincy. He is the captain. Form or lack of form is part and parcel of the game. These are phases, nothing new. When he saw he is out of form, he dropped himself from the fifth Test,” the veteran administrator asserted.
Shukla also said that the recent review meeting to assess the team’s performance has thrashed out the way forward.
“Review meeting is complete. We have discussed the way forward and how to do well,” he said.
