5 major statements by Gautam Gambhir in press conference after IND vs ENG ODIs 2025

India head coach Gautam Gambhir made several interesting statements in the post-series press conference after India beat England by 142 runs in the third and final ODI of the three-match series in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 12.

Among the several remarks he made, Gambhir explained the team's preferred wicketkeeper choice, why Varun Chakravarthy was selected for the Champions Trophy, why Axar Patel batted up the order, and much more.

In this listicle, we take a look at five major statements made by Gambhir:

#5 Shreyas Iyer's supposed non-inclusion in the XI

One of the biggest remarks Gambhir made in the presser was about Shreyas Iyer's supposed non-inclusion in the playing XI. The batter made this startling revelation after his stellar 59 in the first ODI in Nagpur.

Iyer mentioned that he would have sat out of that game to accommodate Virat Kohli had the master batter been fit to play. However, Gambhir claimed that the idea was solely to rotate the squad.

"He (Iyer) wasn't supposed to be benched throughout the series. We wanted to give Yashasvi a go in the first game and see what he can bring to the table because he was in really good form in Australia. So we wanted to see what kind of an innings can he play. I know you can't judge someone by one innings, but we always knew that Shreyas is going to be an important player for us. What he's done at No. 4, be it the World Cup or forget about even the World Cup, he's just an important player," said Gambhir.

"So sometimes when you've only got three games, you want to try and rotate your squad as well. See, like for today, we could have easily played Shami but we wanted to give Arshdeep a go. We could have played Jadeja as well, but we gave Washington a go as well. So when you've got the Champions Trophy around the corner, you want to try and maximise these three games and try and give everyone an opportunity. Shreyas was always in the scheme of things, and good that he played all three games," he added.

#4 Axar Patel's role as a batter

India floated all-rounder Axar Patel up the order in the first two ODIs against England, and he did not let the management down. With scores of 52 and 41 not out, Patel cemented his place as a proper all-rounder in the squad.

Notably, India entrusted Ravindra Jadeja to do the job that Patel previously did, playing at No. 8. This may be seen as a preparation for the future, considering Jadeja is already 36.

"We don't look at averages and stats and all that stuff. We look at who can deliver more at that number. And Axar has done fabulously well. Both the games (against England) he got the opportunity, he delivered for us. I know there will always be people talking about it. But I think that's the way we want to go in the future as well," said Gambhir.

#3 Left-right combinations

It is no secret that Gambhir likes left-right combinations.

One of the biggest revelations Gambhir made in the press conference was his adherence to a left-right combination. Although this is an approach majorly used in T20s, the India head coach has tried to employ it in other formats as well.

In fact, when he came on board as Kolkata Knight Riders' mentor in 2024, left-right partnerships went up from 58% in 2022 and 2023, to 74% in their title-winning 2024 season. Gambhir mentioned that this is the way he likes to play the game.

"That's the way cricket is meant to be played. I know a lot of people talk about it, but that's the way we've got to play the game and that's the way cricket should be played. It's not about the batting order. It's about who can create what impact," said Gambhir.

"And it's about... if you have the option of putting a quality left-hander in the middle, why won't you do that? Why would you want to have the top five as right-handers?" he added.

Notably, Gambhir's predecessor Rahul Dravid, who led India to the 2023 ODI World Cup final and the 2024 T20 World Cup title, mainly picked five right-handers in the ODI top order during his tenure: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Kohli, Iyer and KL Rahul.

#2 Varun Chakravarthy's inclusion (and Yashasvi Jaiswal's exclusion)

One of the biggest decisions the Indian team management took was adding Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana into their ICC Champions Trophy squad in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal and the injured Jasprit Bumrah.

Both decisions raised a lot of eyebrows as Chakravarthy became the fifth spinner in the squad, and Rana lacked experience at the top level to fill in for someone like Bumrah. The selectors ignored Mohammed Siraj, who was among India's best bowlers in ODIs in 2023, picking up 44 wickets.

"Look, the only reason he (Chakravarthy) was picked was because we wanted another wicket-taking option in the middle. And we know what Varun brings to the table, we know that Varun can be a massive threat. And with a lot of teams who haven't played him, he could be an X-factor as well," said Gambhir.

"I'm not going to say that he's going to start and all that stuff, but it's always good to have a strong bowling line-up because we know that if he can actually get those wickets in the middle, it's always going to be an advantage. And that was one of the reasons. Otherwise, we know that Yashasvi has got a fabulous future ahead. It's just that we could only pick 15," he added.

#1 KL Rahul as India's first-choice wicketkeeper

KL Rahul is India's preferred wicketkeeper at the moment.

Gambhir put his foot down around the wicketkeeper situation in the Indian team in ODIs, and said that KL Rahul is his preferred option behind the stumps. Luckily, Rahul's being right-handed did not hamper his cause.

Rishabh Pant, who made an extraordinary comeback in 2024 from the near-fatal road accident he suffered in 2022, will be the second-choice wicketkeeper in the Champions Trophy.

"See, ultimately, it's very difficult to talk about individuals. But all I can say is that if he (Rishabh Pant) is part of the squad, if the time comes, he might get an opportunity. But at the moment, obviously, KL is the number one wicket-keeper and he's delivered for us," said the head coach.

"And see, when you've got two wicket-keepers in the squad, you can't play both, with the kind of quality we've got. Hopefully, whenever he gets an opportunity, he should be ready for it. That's all I can say. At the moment, yes, KL is the one who's going to start," he concluded.