As the players gleefully celebrated India’s win, including the injured Virat Kohli, who was laughing and cracking jokes with unbeaten batters Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, the camera soon panned towards Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir. The two primary decision-makers of the Indian team were involved in an extended conversation, which saw Rohit do most of the talking and Gambhir listening.
The chat wasn’t animated nor heated in any sense of the imagination, but it surely seemed serious. Whether it was about India’s win, their build-up towards the Champions Trophy or something else, we’ll never know, but it sure seemed goal-oriented. It was a visual that took all the attention away from India’s win, considering the countless dressing-room ‘leaks’ and rumours that have surfaced over the last month.
Watch the clip below:
Parthiv Patel aptly summed up the chat. When Abhinav Mukund remarked, “A long conversation between the coach and captain… maybe leading up to the Champions Trophy, a good win under the belt, Parthiv”, the former India keeper said, “Yes absolutely. When the coach and captain get together, that happens. A lot of positives today for India. To start, Harshit Rana was outstanding. The way he came back and then Shami getting a fair bit of a run, bowling that second spell brilliantly. They must be discussing Virat Kohli coming back in for the Cuttack game so there will be a few changes. Most likely, Virat Kohli will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will take his place back as opener.”
Equation between Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir
Plenty of reports have surfaced about the equation Rohit and Gambhir share. Like his predecessor Rahul Dravid, Gambhir has never addressed a joint press conference with Rohit. And if the numerous reports that have splashed the Indian media are to be believed, the relations between the two have been tense. Ahead of the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, Rohit and Gambhir were hardly on talking terms, with both spotted in different corners of the training ground.
Nonetheless, putting those rumours aside, there was a video of Gambhir and Rohit on the eve of the England ODIs casually chilling and talking while walking around inside the hotel premises. For all we know, the two may gel better than the public perception. Rohit has, in fact, repeatedly mentioned that matters between him and Gambhir have been smooth. And with the Champions Trophy knocking on the door, fans must want nothing more than for the captain and coach to be on the same page.
