Insisting that "debates" in the dressing room should not come out into the public domain, India head coach Gautam Gambhir Thursday said he had some "sincere" conversations with the players and stated the transition currently being witnessed in the team will be all-inclusive.
Gambhir dodged questions about whether out-of-form skipper Rohit Sharma will make it to the final XI for the fifth and final Test against Australia starting on Friday.
Head coach Ravi Shastri attempted to douse the fire in the dressing room as reports of unrest surfaced, telling the media that they were "just reports, not truth".
There were some honest words is all I can say. Honesty is extremely important if you want to go on and achieve some great things," Gambhir told mediapersons on the eve of the Test match that India need to win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and stay alive in the World Test Championship.
The straight-shooting former opener declined to take names but admitted a transition is under way and only performance will remain the sole criteria to stay in the side.
"Indian cricket will always be in safe hands as long as there are honest people in that dressing room. Honesty is the most important thing for any transition.".
"And it's not phasing out senior players and bringing in new players. Ultimately what will keep you in the dressing room is performance," Gambhir couldn't be more precise.
If one read between the lines, it seemed that even Mohammed Shami's days as an international cricketer are numbered. Shami could not regain fitness for the current series despite being a rehab for a while.
Earlier when transitions happened it seemed, one department is taking the team forward but (in this case) transition will happen in both batting as well as bowling," he said.
The question of natural game versus situational awareness cropped up and the coach reiterated his stand that the team's needs come first.
"Only one ideology matters and that's team first.". It's a team sport and you have got to play how team needs you to play. You can play the natural game but in team sport, individuals only contribute." When Rishabh Pant's shot-selection in the Melbourne Test was specifically mentioned, he brushed it aside, saying, "I don't want to talk about individuals, they know where they stand." The feisty Gambhir was on full view when an Australian reporter threw a query on why Rohit had not showed up for the interaction as is the "tradition".
"Can you confirm the playing eleven?" he asked.
The reply was ambiguous in response to his query on the final XI.
"Everything is fine with Rohit and I don't think there is anything traditional here. The head coach is here and that should be good enough," he said.
"We will decide on the playing XI after looking at the pitch," he added.
When the same question was repeated, he was more terse.
"The answer remains the same." So, what are the conversations that he has had with Rohit and Virat Kohli, whose dismissals outside the off-stump continue to hurt the team.
"There's only one conversation and that's how to win matches for India. We all know how important that is," he said.
However, Gambhir said he does not like the dressing room debates getting space in public discourse.
"Debates between coaches and players should be confined between them. This sport is known for results but conversations between individuals should stay inside dressing room," he asserted.
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