"Nobody’s got the time to say, ‘okay, boss what are you up to’?"- 3 secrets about Indian team's dressing room disclosed in 2023 so far
Every aspiring Indian cricketer dreams to be a part of the Indian team's dressing room. Hence, fans are always curious to know what goes on inside the four walls of this hallowed space.
Back in the 2000s and early 2010s, not much was revealed about the goings-on in the Indian dressing room on social media, but these days, it is quite common to see clippings of speeches from coaches and celebrations in the dressing room.
Still, fans should note that not all details about a team's dressing room are shared in the form of videos and pictures online. There are some things which stay under the wraps.
However, a few cricketers have addressed questions related to the Indian team's dressing room and made some interesting revelations. Here's a list of three such statements.
#1 Prithvi Shaw says he did not open up to anyone in Indian team's dressing room
Prithvi Shaw made his debut for the Indian team in 2018. In the last five years, he has been in and out of the squad. He has represented India in five Tests, six ODIs and one T20I.
While one would assume that Shaw would have formed some good friendships with players in the dressing room, the Indian opener recently disclosed he has hardly even opened up to a teammate. Shaw said that everyone talks with each other in the dressing room but there are no deep, personal conversations.
"Everyone talks to each other. But opening up... hardly. At least, I've never opened up to anyone. Yes, all the mazaak-masti (fun and games) happens. But personal space used to be personal," Shaw said in a chat with Cricbuzz and Wisden.
#2 Ravichandran Ashwin said all teammates in Indian team's dressing room have become colleagues now instead of friends
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been a key member of the Test squad for over a decade. He has shared the dressing room with many players during his international career.
#TheIndianExpress
‘I should have never become a bowler… teammates were friends, now colleagues’: R Ashwin - The Indian Express
indianexpress.com/article/sports…
Ashwin shared about a change that he has seen in the Indian team's dressing room during an interview with The Indian Express:
“This is an era where everybody is a colleague. Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they’re colleagues."
"There’s a big difference because here people are there to advance themselves and to stride ahead of another person sitting to your right or left. So nobody’s got the time to say, ‘okay, boss what are you up to’?" he added.
#3 Chetan Sharma disclosed details of Virat Kohli vs Sourav Ganguly ego clash
Former BCCI selection committee head Chetan Sharma was involved in a sting operation earlier this year. He spilled multiple secrets about the Indian team's dressing room. Sharma mentioned how players would take painkiller injections smartly and get themselves match-fit even when they were 80-85% fit.
Further, he spoke about the ego clash between former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and former Indian captain Virat Kohli. Sharma even went on to say that the officials named Rohit Sharma the ODI captain because Kohli was not their favorite.
"Rohit Sharma had volunteered (to take over ODI captaincy). It was an ego clash. Virat felt he was removed from captaincy by Ganguly and wanted to teach him a lesson. So he made statements to the media to defame him. But it backfired on him," said Chetan Sharma.
The chairman of BCCI’s national selection committee #Chetansharma landed in a major soup after he made startling revelations on #ViratKohli‘s alleged feud with #SouravGanguly, to a television channel, during a sting operation. Details inside.
telanganatoday.com/he-wanted-to-t…
Neither Rohit Sharma nor Virat Kohli publicly reacted to this sting operation controversy. Chetan Sharma soon resigned from his position, and Ajit Agarkar has now replaced him as the chief selector.