ARTICLE
It didn’t take long. The first question thrown at chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar was regarding Hardik Pandya being overlooked for T20I captaincy when everything pointed out to his elevation to the role, after his stellar performances in the T20 World Cup final. “We listened to the feedbacks from the dressing room,” is how Agarkar put with regards to making Suryakumar Yadav the captain. It was a clear indication that even as Pandya was part of the Indian set-up as a vice-captain, the selectors were looking at other options and more importantly listening to voices that matter—players. “We received good feedbacks about Surya and we believe he has the qualities and hopefully he can develop into the role,” Agarkar said of their pick. As Agarkar mentioned, it wasn’t a decision taken in a hurry. Feedbacks were taken, pros and cons were evaluated and in the end there was one clinching factor, which Agarkar didn’t try to sugarcoat. “Fitness obviously has been a challenge for him (Pandya) over the last few years and that becomes a little bit difficult for a coach and selectors. We want someone who is available more often than not,” Agarkar said. Then the mic passed on to the man who the whole of India has been waiting to hear – new head coach Gautam Gambhir . There have been plenty of questions as to whether Gambhir’s style of functioning would work in the Indian set-up. As has always been the case, Gambhir sat with the game face on, just smiling once in a half-an-hour interaction. But he explained his outlook in coaching. “It is important to give players the freedom. That is what I absolutely believe in. I don’t want to have a relationship between the head coach and players. The best relationship is the one which is built on trust and that is going to be very important,” Gambhir said. The biggest goal, he asserted, is winning the dressing room. “I’ve always said a happy dressing room is a winning dressing room. And that is my responsibility alongside the entire support staff. I’ve big shoes to fill, but looking forward to it,” Gambhir said. It sounded simple. But Gambhir and India will know it won’t be as simple, particularly with a tough tour of Australia not far off. Get latest updates on T20 World Cup along with live score updates for all matches. None
What’s New
Spotlight
Advertisement
Featured News
Latest From This Week
Popular News
