“He does not have the right demeanor nor the words” – Sanjay Manjrekar wants BCCI to keep Gautam Gambhir away from press conferences
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has advised the BCCI to keep Gautam Gambhir away from press conferences following the latter’s media interaction ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Manjrekar said that Gambhir doesn’t have the right ‘demeanor’ or ‘words’ and reckons India captain Rohit Sharma or chief selector Ajit Agarakar should only face the media.
Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on X:
“Just watched Gambhir in the press conference. May be wise for @BCCI to keep him away from such duties, let him work behind the scenes. He does not have the right demeanour nor the words when interacting with them. Rohit & Agarkar, much better guys to front up for the media.”
Manjrekar’s reaction came in the wake of Gambhir slamming former Australia captain Ricky Ponting while backing Rohit and Virat Kohli amid their poor run in Tests.
“What does Ponting has to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket and more importantly have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men," Gambhir said.
"They've achieved a lot for Indian cricket and they will continue to achieve a lot in future as well. I think for me, the most important thing is that they still work really hard and they still passionate, they still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important,” he added.
Gambhir further gave a befitting reply regarding Washington Sundar’s selection in the second Test against New Zealand (via SportStar).
"You guys were criticizing when we picked him. It’s good for Indian cricket that the next generation of players are stepping up."
“There is no confirmation” – Gautam Gambhir on Rohit Sharma’s availability for the first Test in Perth
Gautam Gambhir added that Rohit Sharma is unlikely to play the first Test. He said that Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team in that case. He said (via ESPNcricinfo):
"At the moment, there is no confirmation but we will let you know exactly what the situation will be. Hopefully, he's going to be available, but everything we're going to get to know at the start of the series.”
"Obviously [Jasprit Bumrah] will [be the captain] if Rohit is not available".
Gambhir shared that KL Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran might replace Rohit as an opener in the above scenario. He said:
"Obviously there is [Abhimanyu] Easwaran and there is KL [Rahul] there. So we will take a call closer to the first Test match if Rohit is not available.”
The first Test of the five-match series will start in Perth on November 22.