India coach Gautam Gambhir stressed ahead of the fifth and final Test against Australia that any conversations in the dressing room should stay there. This comes at a time when India trail the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 after a 184-run defeat in the fourth contest at the MCG.
India enter the fifth Test with a serious objective of levelling the series and doing their part in qualifying for the World Test Championship final.
On Thursday, Gambhir said he has had some “honest” conversations with players as only performance can help them stay in the set-up.
Gambhir refuted any reports of issues within the team and declared that they were “just reports, not truth”.
“Debates between coach and player should remain in dressing room. Stern words. They were just reports not truth,” Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Test which begins on Friday.
“Indian cricket will be in safe hands till honest people stay in the dressing room. Only thing that keeps you in the dressing room is performance,” he added.
“There were honest words and honesty is important,” he asserted.
Gambhir further clarified he did not have any discussion with senior batters Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma except for strategies on how to win the Test matches.
“Every individual knows what are areas to work on. We have only had one conversation with them (and that is) how to win Test matches,” he said.
Both the senior members of the team are currently struggling for form and their place in the XI has become a point of debate. Skipper Rohit is likely to announce his retirement after the Test in Sydney, unless India qualify for the WTC Final.
Gambhir also confirmed that pacer Akash Deep will miss the New Year Test with a stiff back, though he didn’t name a replacement.
