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Rohit Sharma has said he and Gautam Gambhir share a mutual trust and ‘that’s how it should be’.
Rohit Sharma (L) and Gautam Gambhir (Sportzpics)
Indian captain Rohit Sharma has suggested that all is well between him and head coach Gautam Gambhir behind the walls of Indian men’s dressing room, despite media reports suggesting otherwise over the past two weeks.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday (January 18) in Mumbai, Rohit said the duo share a mutual trust which includes Gambhir giving him the complete freedom to make calls on the field. Rohit added that ‘that’s how it should be’ between a captain and a coach in the sport.
“Both of us are very clear about what we wanted to do. I am not going to sit here and discuss what goes behind the scenes, every game tactically. But, it’s very clear in my mind. But Gautam Gambhir is pretty… once we enter the field, he trusts what the captain is doing on the field,” Rohit said on Saturday when chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced India’s team for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
“The basic talk that happens is only off the field. On the ground or maybe in the changing room, once we take the field, it’s all about what I do on the field. That’s the kind of trust we have in each other. That’s how it should be. That’s about it,” he added.
Media reports have been buzzing with rumors of a ‘rift’ between the two since India conceded a 2-1 lead in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Rohit dropped himself in the final Test citing his personal form and since then, it has been mentioned multiple times that him and Gambhir haven’t been on the same page regarding many issues, including team selection.
The BCCI has continued to deny these rumors, too.
“It’s a completely wrong statement, there is no rift between the chairman of selectors and coach, there is no rift between captain and coach. This is all rubbish which is being spread in a section of media,” the board’s vice-president Rajiv Shukla said recently.
The Rohit-Gambhir formula is yet to work in Tests, as India have lost six of their last 10 matches. Before the next Test rubber in June, India will hope they can bring the best out of each other in the upcoming three-match ODI series against England at home and the Champions Trophy in the UAE.
