Salil Ankola Suggests Indian Team Rift Reports are Exaggerated

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Salil Ankola Suggests Indian Team Rift Reports are Exaggerated

New Delhi, Jan 2 (NationPress) Salil Ankola, who recently served as a member of the India men's team selection committee, believes that reports of discord in the current Test team might be exaggerated, adding that there’s considerable uproar when the team fails to achieve favorable outcomes.

Following India's 184-run defeat to Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, reports surfaced indicating turmoil within the Indian team, with head coach Gautam Gambhir mentioning in his pre-match press conference that ‘there were some honest discussions, that is what I can say.’

“I am not currently part of the Indian team selection committee, but I don’t believe that’s the situation. If it were, it would have been resolved internally. There is always a significant reaction when the Indian cricket team does not perform well,” he stated.

“However, this could be overstated. Most of these players have played together when Gautam was around, like Virat and Rohit, and even Surya has had some experience with him. The rest of the team is quite young.”

“Let’s wait and see what the reality is - there’s a lot of speculation regarding players like Rohit not participating or calls for other players to be benched. Every other publication presents a different narrative, and even the Australian media isn’t being particularly supportive,” Ankola shared in an exclusive interview with IANS.

When asked if the external noise surrounding the Indian team ahead of the crucial Sydney Test would be a major distraction in their effort to level the series against Australia, Ankola, whose term as a selector concluded in September 2024, commented, “I have toured with the Indian cricket team on two extensive tours of West Indies and T20Is in Florida, USA, followed by the tour in South Africa.”

“I’ve observed that such matters often don’t come to light when you’re actually part of the Indian cricket team, because many issues get exaggerated. We haven’t performed well against New Zealand and Australia, and we were fortunate in the third Test as it was rained out.”

“Otherwise, we could have been in a difficult position, and we were saved by the rain. Ultimately, it all hinges on the World Test Championships. We reached the finals of the World Test Championship twice but have yet to win it. Even if we manage a draw or a win now, making it to the WTC final will be challenging. As a team, we haven’t performed well, so there will be some noise surrounding this.”

With coach Gambhir not confirming that captain Rohit Sharma will definitely start for the Sydney Test, Ankola highlighted that the decision may be made collectively by the captain and coach before the match.

“Rohit is the leader of the team and has been one of the senior members. However, he hasn’t been in great form recently. In his last few innings, he scored only one fifty (before arriving in Australia), indicating a long stretch without significant performance,” he remarked.

“Perhaps it’s up to Rohit as captain and Gambhir as coach to decide. If Rohit wishes to step down and allow someone else to play, it will come down to captaincy decisions. It could even be Bumrah stepping up as captain. If Rohit decides not to play, that changes the scenario. We’ll have to wait and see because he (Rohit) hasn’t yet made any comments.”

“As for Australia, they have announced their playing eleven – with Mitchell Marsh absent and Beau Webster in the lineup. He’s a talented cricketer and a solid all-rounder. I believe there’s a 6mm grass covering on the Sydney wicket, which will make it difficult and bouncy again, so we need to consider who we’ll field,” he concluded.