"This is all rubbish" - Senior BCCI official slams rumors of rift between Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir during BGT 2024-25

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has dismissed rumors of a rift between Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). He termed all such reports as rubbish being spread in a section of the media.

India went down to Australia by a 3-1 margin in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The visitors won the opening Test in Perth but lost three of the next four matches to concede the trophy to the Aussies after a decade. In the wake of Team India's poor performance Down Under, several rumors emerged of skipper Rohit and coach Gambhir not being on the same page.

BCCI vice-president Shukla has, however, slammed all such claims. Issuing a clarification over the controversy, he said (as quoted by PTI):

"It's a completely wrong statement, there is no rift between chairman of selection (Ajit Agarkar) and coach, there is no rift between captain and coach. This is all rubbish which is being spread in a section of the media."

Indian captain Rohit had a horrendous tour Down Under, managing only 31 runs in five innings, with a best of 10. Subsequently, he dropped himself from the playing XI for the final Test of the series in Sydney. The Indian captain's decision received mixed response. Sharing his thoughts on the same, Shukla said:

"This is also wrong that Rohit has insisted on captaincy. He is the captain. Form or lack of form is part and parcel of the game. These are phases, nothing new. When he saw he is out of form, he dropped himself from the fifth Test."

The BCCI vice-president added that a review meeting was held recently to discuss the way forward for the Indian team. He also stated that the Men in Blue's Champions Trophy squad will be announced after a meeting on January 18 or 19.

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Rohit to train with Mumbai Ranji Trophy team: Reports

Following Team India's Test series loss in Australia, head coach Gambhir had urged the players to take part in domestic cricket matches. Before him, the BCCI had also ordered all the players to feature in the Ranji Trophy unless they were injured or on national duty.

As per a recent report in the Times of India, skipper Rohit is all set to train with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team from Tuesday, January 14. The report added that the 37-year-old seems keen to play in Mumbai's Ranji clash against Jammu & Kashmir, which begins on January 23.