'Indian cricket important, not Gautam Gambhir'; Agarkar opens up on Hardik Pandya's captaincy row

Veteran batter and former India opener Gautam Gambhir held his first press conference after taking over India’s head coach from the great Rahul Dravid. The ex-KKR mentor will make his debut with a limited overs series in Sri Lanka. The tour will start with three T20Is matches scheduled for July 27, 28, and 30 in Pallekele, followed by three ODI matches on August 2, 4, and 7 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Ahead of the matches, Gautam Gambhir held his first press conference and told that his only aim is for the betterment of Indian cricket.

“The betterment of Indian cricket is more important, Gautam Gamir is not important. All of us have a heart in the right place and all of us think that Indian cricket needs to move forward,” Gambhir stated.

He further added, “I'm taking over a very, very successful team; a T20 world champion, Runner-up in the World Test Championship and runner-up in the ODI World Cup. It's not that it's not a successful team. I have big shoes to fill.”

Mumbai | Indian Men's Cricket Team Head Coach Gautam Gambhir says, "I'm taking over a very, very successful team. A T20 world champion. Runner-up in the World Test Championship and runner-up in the ODI World Cup. It's not that it's not a successful team. I have big shoes to… pic.twitter.com/NcUcAQp7SC

— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024

“I think important is to give players the freedom, that's what I absolutely believe in and not having a relationship which is of a head coach and a player. I think for me, the best relationship is a relationship which is built on trust and that is going to be very important. I can promise guys that they will always have my back. I've always said that a happy dressing room is a winning dressing. That's my responsibility alongside the entire support staff to make it a happy and secure dressing room. I don't complicate too many things and neither do I want to complicate,” he further added.

Gambhir also spoke about his relationship with BCCI President Jay Shah and said, “I've got a fabulous relationship with him. We go a long way back and all these speculations about different things, we've been on different pages. I think we can do a better job from probably clarifying those things. It's been a great relationship. Hopefully, it continues that way because the betterment of Indian cricket is more important, Gautam Gamir is not important.”

Also Read | Suryakumar Yadav Appointed Captain as Players have ‘higher level of trust’ than Pandya: Report

Meanwhile, Indian Men's cricket team chief selector, Ajit Agarkar opened up on Pandya and said, “Hardik Pandya is a very important player, we have seen it in the World Cup and we need him, but his fitness is a big challenge now. I think we can manage him better. He is still part of our team... Surya Kumar Yadav has all the necessary abilities (to be the captain)..."