Report making shocking claim about lack of communication between Gautam Gambhir and reserve player goes viral during BGT 2024-25 5th Test

Team India and head coach Gautam Gambhir's frailties on and off the field have been well-documented in their tour of Australia, but affairs reached a fever pitch following the team's collapse in the dying stages of the Boxing Day Test. The defeat which gave Australia the series lead, and the nature of it, apparently triggered the head coach who let the squad know how he felt about it.

The dressing room atmosphere, arguably at its harmonious best during Rahul Dravid's tenure, is on the knife's edge. A report by Indian Express ahead of the Sydney Test spilled the beans to such an extent that Gambhir was forced to address it during the pre-match press conference.

The former player's reign as head coach has gone off to a rocky start. An ODI series loss in Sri Lanka, coupled with a red-ball whitewash at home against New Zealand made things worse. With Ravichandran Ashwin retiring midway through the Border-Gavaskar series, and Rohit Sharma not being part of the series finale, there is a lot to suggest that not all is right in the dressing room.

According to a report by The Australian, a reserve player bemoaned the lack of communication offered to him by the management regarding his place in the squad for the series.

"I bumped into a reserve in the Indian team at a kebab shop at 1.45am the night before one of the Tests. After making a point to explain why he needed the late-night meal, he went on to ask me if Rohit the captain had mentioned him to me at any point during the tour," the report in The Australian read

"He then went, “Has Gauti (Gambhir) bhai, said anything about me to you?” And the poor fellow cut a sullen figure as he then lowered his head and went, “Nobody says anything to me in the team. Not the captain or the coach. I don’t know what’s happening," the report continued

Among the reserves, Sarfaraz Khan, Tanush Kotian, and Abhimanyu Easwaran are the members who have not had a game under their belt in the tour so far. Prasidh Krishna, who has played in overseas conditions for India in the past, had to watch Akash Deep and Harshit Rana play ahead of him, before finally availing a chance in the ongoing clash in Sydney.

The report further exposed the lack of unity within the dressing room as the team was far from a jovial unit despite their historic win during the series opener in Perth.

Despite a senior coaching staff offering his credit card for the squad to cherish the win, the members decide to break off into factions and revel in the win in their own way, rather than in a collective fashion.

"India’s win in the Perth Test was a famous victory, one of the best for this generation, and probably one of the greatest for an Indian team on Australian soil - yet they did not celebrate as a team. They didn’t hang around in the dressing room to have a drink or even step out for a meal together. They instead, broke up into little groups and went their separate ways." the report mentioned

"This is despite a senior member of the support staff having offered his own credit card to buy some drinks for the team so that they could stick together to revel in what they’d achieved. As he would tell me later, none of the players were really interested. They all had their own plans," the report continued

Communication and togetherness were two of the most prioritized aspects in the Rahul Dravid regime, and a lack of it will land Gambhir in trouble sooner or later, especially if the concerning run of results persists.

"I don't think I need to answer to any reports" - Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir surprised several by turning up for the pre-match press conference in Sydney instead of skipper Rohit Sharma. After reports emerged that Rohit was not part of the fielding drills, and only had a short net session, it became evident that he would not be part of the contest.

"I don't think I need to answer to any reports. There are some honest words. That's all I can say. Honesty is extremely important if you want to go on and achieve some great things," Gambhir said during the pre-match press conference (via ESPN Cricinfo)

"If someone had said 40-45 days ago that we would be in this situation, that we can come to Sydney and draw this series, it's a good position to be in. And I don't think so that anything is out of control," Gambhir

Team India were in a wobbly state during the Sydney Test, but have recovered to 117-4 in the final session, with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja putting on a gritty partnership.