
Created at Nov 13, 2025 04:06 PM
Gautam Gambhir's original comments after the backlash over the benching of Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav:
What he said:
Gambhir acknowledged that living players out of the team when they are clearly worthy of her starting position is one of the toughest parts of being the coach, he said.
This is the toughest Path for me as a coach sometimes when I know there is a so much of quality sitting on the bench and I know everybody deserve to be a part of the playing XI. But. Eventually you can only pick 11. Thinking about what is the best combination to get the job done on that particular day, he continued to talk about having to be transparent and direct. For me, the most important thing. Is the conversation and the communication as well. But certainly the communication needs to be very clear, very honest. Sometimes, obviously those are tough conversation to have. If you tell someone he is not playing, it is probably the hardest conversation for both the coach and the player. Lastly, he addressed the atmosphere in the locker room.
If you are candidate, if you are 4th right, I think our players do get it. Its communication between the player and coach and I think it should remain that way and not have a lot of foundation and different theories build off it. I think this group and the support staff have done exceptionally well. Because I think it has been very open dressing room and honest dressing room.
Gambhir and acknowledging the criticism and making the point that 2 players like Arshdeep and Kuldeep are not being left out because they are Unwanted., but because the coach has to select a combination for a specific scenario in this case Match.
He is prioritizing The human expect of selection, managing emotions, ensuring players feel respected and in the intend to shift the narrative away from a speculation and stablish that place. Where the decision is made is in a private discussion between management and player. He tries to reassure fans. And the public in journal, the team culture, dressing room, honestly transparencies is still healthy weather or not the air is charged.
The context of the backlash.
Arshdeep and Kuldeep are high quality bowler And of late have not made the playing XI for the Indian national cricket team even though the players especially in the case of arshdeep demonstrate well in performance of their reputation fans and pundits
have a lot of discourse when india made Surprisingly combination or non selection for the playing XI. As they were in a key series that were unexpected combination or non selections Gambhir statement come in the aftermath of that continue backlash. In essence, Gambhir statement are the first public kind of reaction explanation response.
Consequences.
Gambhir is indicating that it is always a tactical selection, never Solely sentimental, even the best players can be left out of a game if the match up warrants different personnel. In maintaining a focus on communication, he underscores of both management and process, not merely the product who plays or does not play. For Arshdeep and Kuldeep, however, it is not a simple choice. Nevertheless, it appears Gambhir attempts to manipulate the narrative so they have lost value and That they. Remain part of the collective. To the fans, It is an attempt of transparency And it is also signifies trust the process, not the just no names.