Gautam Gambhir (right) with Rishabh Pant.
Credit: PTI Photo
India's head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is under the eye of scanner following India's humiliating series loss to South Africa, did not blame any individual, but dropped enough hints that he was livid with India's stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant for "playing to the gallery".
Gambhir's par-for-the course fiery post-match press conference after the loss in Guwahati had one anomaly though -- the India head coach was a bundle of contradictions through and through those 15 odd minutes.
In the first innings, India were 95 for one, but things went downhill from thereon with the hosts left stuttering at 122 for seven, largely due to Marco Jansen's exploits with the red cherry.
Pant gave charge to Jansen when he needed to show some discretion, and that shot possibly was the worst of all the dismissals.
After the 0-2 series defeat, Gambhir was asked if he would have expected better from Pant, who is now one short of 50 Test matches.
"You don't blame one individual shot. You don't blame one individual playing in a certain way. You blame everyone. So, me talking about an individual, I've never done that. I'm not going to do it," Gambhir said in a no-nonsense manner after fronting up at the media conference.
He was very clear that he did not want to "brush things under the carpet".
"The reality is, we still need to improve a lot in red ball cricket. Whether it's mentally, whether it's technically, whether it's absorbing pressure, whether it's sacrificing, whether it's putting the team ahead of your individual self. And most importantly, not playing for the gallery," his answer was anyone's guess that he was talking about Pant.
But when a senior reporter asked how does one fix the quantum of accountability, his reply did not leave any room for playing the guessing game.
"It comes from care. What you care about the dressing room, how much you care about the dressing room and the team. Because accountability and the game situation can never be taught," Gambhir said.
"... Ultimately when you go in, if you keep putting the team ahead of your own self, not thinking that this is how I play, and this is how I'll get the results, and this is how I play, I don't want to play the second, I don't have plan B. So, sometimes, you'll get these kind of collapses as well," the head coach's statement could have only been pointed at one man.
"How much you care about Indian cricket and how much you care about the team and people sitting in the dressing room is important as well," he couldn't have been more precise with his response.
Pant, who was deputising for injured skipper Shubman Gill, had a poor Test match, getting out for 7 and 13 respectively.
(With inputs from agencies)