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Gautam Gambhir hiighlights the importance of an open dressing room culture and how it enables a player to showcase their personality.
Gautam Gambhir (L) and Rohit Sharma (R) – AP Image
Team India’s Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir highlighted about how he emphasizes on having an ‘open dressing room’ and the importance of building a culture where players can be themselves.
Gambhir’s comment comes after India secured the win in the 3rd ODI against England to complete the series whitewash over their opponents ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. Speaking after the game, Gambhir talked about how the atmosphere is open for both the younger and senior players.
“Look, it’s everyone, I think there are some senior players there as well. There is Virat, there is Rohit, there are other guys as well. But the important thing is the atmosphere is such that it’s a very open environment. It’s a very open dressing room where you can just be yourself and that is very important,” he shared.
Gambhir also highlighted how there is no concept of seniors or juniors within the dressing room and how he wants his players to showcase their true selves when they are with the team.
“We want to try and create that culture, that energy in the dressing room where there is no senior or junior. We want guys to be themselves sometimes. That’s the personality, what we want to see in that dressing room,” Gambhir shared.
“The more free you are in the dressing room, the more free you want to be on the field as well. The more closed you are in the dressing room, you will always be more closed on the cricket field and that’s the kind of culture we want to create in the dressing room,” he added.
Following the series sweep, Gambhir also opened up about why he decided to bench the veteran pacer, Mohammed Shami for the final game.
Gambhir said India wanted to manage Mohammed Shami’s workload which is why the bowler played two matches each in the T20I and ODI series.
“We were trying to manage his workload, that’s the reason why we played him in two T20s and two ODIs and hopefully he’s going to be fresh and ready to go in the Champions Trophy,” he said.
He also justified dropping young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal from the final squad of 15 for the Champions Trophy, saying the left-hander has a long career ahead of him.
“The only reason was because we wanted another wicket-taking option in the middle and we know that what Varun Chakravarthy brings to the table,” the coach said.
(with PTI Inputs)
- Location :
Ahmadabad, India, India
