The biggest talking point was Suryakumar’s elevation as captain, rather than the natural progression of Hardik assuming charges after Rohit’s retirement from the shortest version. But Agarkar clarified that fitness was the biggest criterion. “The biggest thing is that the captain should be on the park, more often than not. That’s a prerequisite really. We also feel that Surya has the necessary qualities to be a good captain. He has a good cricket brain, and is one of the best T20 batters in the world. He has been around the group for a year as well,” he elaborated.

🗣️ In sport, it’s all about winning#TeamIndia Head Coach @GautamGambhir shares his experiences and learnings#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/RdCzSfWeXg

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 22, 2024

It was not a decision taken in haste, Agarkar stressed. “It’s not an overnight thing where you just decide that someone should be captain or should not be captain. Obviously, a lot of thought goes in. You get a lot of feedback from the dressing room as well, what sort of qualities you are looking for,” he added.

The Mumbai Indians batsman, though, was overlooked for the ODIS, where Agarkar said, “both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul had a stellar run in the ODI World Cup.” Besides, Pant has returned to contention and squeezing Suryakumar, whose 50-over career has not taken off as brilliantly as his T20I one, would be difficult.

“Two mature individuals”

After the Suryakumar-Hardik debate was dusted, the topic drifted to Kohli, specifically the relation between Gambhir and Kohli, who had on-field run-ins as recently as the last IPL. But Gambhir blunted the scandalous undertones in his typical nonsensical way. “It (run-in) was good for the TRPs. My relationship (with Kohli) is not for public consumption. It’s between two mature individuals,” he said in an assertive tone.

“There’s still a lot of cricket left in Rohit and Virat,” says GG.#TeamIndia #ViratKohli #RohitSharma #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/r0SaavyCBo

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) July 22, 2024

He would add: “I share a very good relationship off the field and will continue to do that. On the field, everyone has got the right to fight for their own jersey and come back to a winning dressing room. But at the moment, we’re representing India, representing 140 crore Indians and I’m sure we’re going to be on the same page and try to make India proud.”

Extolling his virtues—“a thorough professional, a world-class athlete and a world class player”—he said he and Rohit could continue playing for a long time. “Both have a lot of cricket left in them. More importantly with the Champions Trophy and a big tour of Australia coming up they will be motivated.. Then, hopefully, they can keep their fitness to make the 2027 World Cup as well,” he said.

That the ageing stalwarts have retired from T20Is would ease their burden, but Gambhir underlined the importance of managing workload, especially of bowlers, especially with Test-heavy calendar towards the backend of the year. “For a batsman if they can play consistently and if they are in good form, might as well play all the games,” he said, and pointed out to Rohit and Kohli, who he said would be available for most games as they only have two formats to look after.

But that’s not the case of Bumrah, a cross-format bowler. “Workload management for someone like Bumrah is important. For Bumrah, because he is one rare kind of a bowler who anyone would want, so it’s our responsibility to try and have him fresh for most of the important games. Not just for Bumrah but for other fast bowlers too,” he said.

💬 “I’ve got a fabulous relationship with Mr. Jay Shah”#TeamIndia Head Coach @GautamGambhir talks about his strong bond with BCCI Honorary Secretary Mr @JayShah, underscoring their shared vision and commitment towards taking Indian cricket forward. pic.twitter.com/BdSNW2RONg

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 22, 2024

Embarking on his first tour as coach, Gambhir laid out his guiding philosophy. “I’ve always said that a happy dressing room is a winning dressing room. So that’s my responsibility alongside the entire support staff,” he said.

He dwelled on giving players the freedom. “It’s important to give players the freedom, that’s what I absolutely believe in, and not to have a relationship between a head coach and a player. The best relationship is a relationship built on trust. The most important thing for me is that they will always have my back. I don’t complicate things and neither do I want to complicate,” he said.

Among other discussions on team composition, Agarkar clarified that Ravindra Jadeja was not picked for the ODIs to manage workload, what with a busy Test season ushering in. “He’s within the scheme of things and very important as a player,” he said. Meanwhile, Gill bypassed a clutch of senior players to become the vice-captain in both formats because “we’ve got a chance to reset the button a little bit.”

Gill, perceivably, is being groomed as future captain, when Rohit and Kohli would retire from Tests and ODIs too. Suryakumar, the T20Is captain, is 33. “ We want to try and have somebody who can also learn from a couple of the senior guys that are there. So we don’t face the same challenges of trying to look for a captain in case there are injuries or loss of form somewhere. He’s shown some decent leadership qualities and we want to get him some experience,” Agarkar said.

All of these talking points gave a sense of intrigue to what would otherwise have been a low-stakes trip.