'Bahut ho gaya': Gambhir lets out his anger at senior players after Melbourne loss, says report

Indian head coach is reportedly said to have given a warning to senior batters in the dressing room after the defeat in the Boxing Day Test.

India's loss in the Melbourne Test match in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia has reportedly opened a can of worms within the dressing room.

The loss compounded with the poor form of two senior batters -- skipper Rohit Sharma and ex-captain Virat Kohli -- has reportedly resulted in coach Gautam Gambhir losing his cool and he gave a showdown to the senior batters.

"Bahut ho gaya (I’ve had enough),” the former India opener is learnt to have said in the dressing room, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

The incident drew sharp response from former player Irfan Pathan who commented that what happens in the dressing room should stay there.

Rohit scored just 31 runs from five innings in this series, while Kohli, barring an unbeaten second-innings century in Perth, aggregated 67 runs from six other innings.

There were even reports that Gambhir wanted to bring back Cheteshwar Pujara for the tour Down Under, a suggestion which was apparently turned down by the selectors.

After starting the series with a resounding win in Perth, India lost the second Test in Adelaide. While the third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw, the defeat in Melbourne has pushed them to a corner as they go into the series decider at Sydney.

Though it is not clear as to who Gambhir vented his anger at, it is presumed that the two senior batters (Rohit and Virat) were under the line of fire, especially for their mode of dismissals.

For Kohli, it has been a familiar pattern of him poking at balls outside the off stump and getting caught behind or in the slips cordon. Rohit has been falling prey playing across-the-line. Rishabh Pant's dismissal in both innings also seems to have angered the coach, who is even otherwise known for his outspoken nature.

As per the media reports, Gambhir is even said to have told the players that if they don't mend their ways, he would not hesitate to drop them.

For a place in the final of the World Test Championship, India not only need a win in the Sydney Test, but expect Australia to lose the subsequent away Test series against Sri Lanka.

There are unconfirmed reports that the Board of Control for Cricket in India will have a talk with Gambhir and Rohit after the series to chalk out an exit plan for the seniors.

The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been a difficult ride for the side has struggled to get the right combination in the face of an aggressive and highly-driven Australian team. The visitors will be playing the must-win fifth and final Test here from Friday.

The on-field roller-coaster is causing some off-field issues as well with murmurs of unrest in the dressing room beginning to grow.

It is learnt that Gambhir is not on the same page with most of the players in the team and the communication isn't as good as it used to be during the time of Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid.

Skipper Rohit Sharma has maintained that he speaks individually to the players about selection issues. But after Gambhir took charge in July, Rohit, it is said, hasn't actually given clarity to some of the not-so-junior players about why they were being excluded at times from the side.

His own poor form hasn't helped Rohit's cause. But it is also reliably learnt that Gambhir, who is considered a more assertive person, hasn't earned a lot of confidence from the group of players, who aren't as old as Kohli or Rohit but are also not rookies like Harshit Rana or Nitish Reddy.

However, it remains to be seen how the so-called 'dressing room showdown' will affect the morale of the team as they head into the New Year Test in Sydney on Friday (January 3).

(With PTI inputs)