New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS): Former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and WV Raman have expressed displeasure over reports of disquiet and turmoil in the Indian team dressing room during their ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.
According to a report in The Indian Express on Wednesday, there’s been chaos in the Indian camp after their 184-run defeat to Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, adding that head coach Gautam Gambhir is believed to have said, “Bahut ho gaya (I’ve had enough) in his dressing room speech, with the dressing room environment being ‘far from ideal’.
It also said Gambhir went on to tell the players that some of them were doing their own thing in the name of the "natural game", instead of playing shots based on the situation. The report also claims Gambhir saying he let the team do what it wanted for the "last six months" but would he now "decide" how they would play in the longer format.
It further mentioned that Gambhir is learnt to have said that going ahead, those who don’t abide by his pre-decided team strategy would be given a “thank you” and that he had been deciding for inclusion of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara, an idea shot down by the selection committee.
The information coming from the report, though, has left Pathan and Raman, who coached the Indian women’s team previously, unimpressed, especially with the fifth and final Test of the series starting on January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground and India being 2-1 behind.
“What happens in the dressing room, should stay in the dressing room!” wrote Pathan on ‘X’ on Wednesday.
"#Teamindia has the chance to draw the #BGT. So, they need to be allowed to get on with their jobs. This is not the time to put out selective leaks and stoke the fire. My humble view,” added Raman, who was interviewed for India head coach post this year, which eventually went to Gambhir.
Shreevats Goswami, who was a member of India U19 World Cup-winning team in 2008, also expressed anger over leaks coming from the Indian team dressing room. “How did the dressing room chat get leaked to the media? This is just not on!" he wrote on ‘X’.