A major rift has emerged in the top leadership of the Indian men’s senior cricket team with Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir seemingly at odds with each other. The development emerged after a bombshell remark by former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik following the team’s embarrassing 2-0 and 4-0 defeats to Ireland and England respectively.
Karthik claimed that while Agarkar is planning for the future and has a long-term vision for the Indians, Gambhir wants to win every match and select players for the short run. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor claimed that this has caused friction between the chief selector and the head coach.
“A bit of friction between the chief selector and head coach. I feel Agarkar has long-term plans, and the current coach is saying, “You know, I want to win every game I play.” Hence, the confusion we see unfolding before us. Is it ideal for the players? Definitely not,” said Karthik on Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
“I mean, if you are from India, imagine the bench strength you have? Everyone is thinking that if I have a couple of bad games, anyone can replace me. On top of that, this happens, it’s definitely a situation that India needs to be aware of and rectify as soon as possible,” he added.
Karthik explained that the friction arises from the fact that the head coach does not want negative results on his name, as it will be him and the captain who are accountable for the same.
“I think the chief selector Agarkar has an eye on the future, and he wants to see the group of players around. Meanwhile, Gambhir might be thinking, ‘I want to win every series because it’s my name on the line.’ So, maybe there’s a conflict; it looks like that. “There’s one selector who wants to build the squad, and there’s another who is saying I want success because every series I play, my name is on the line along with the captain,” Karthik further said.
The tour of the United Kingdom (UK) marked India’s first assignment since Shreyas Iyer was named T20I captain. Throughout the series, the selection (and non selection) of teen wonder kid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi remained a major talking point. India did not play him in both games in Ireland and the series opener in England but picked him for the second, third, fourth T20I against the Harry Brook-led side before again dropping him for the final game.
