India head coach Gautam Gambhir has candidly acknowledged that his interactions with batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma may not have been optimally handled, stressing that as a human being, he is entitled to make mistakes.
Kohli and Rohit announced their Test retirements in the wake of India's dismal Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, marking the end of an era under Gambhir's nascent tenure.
Gambhir was quizzed on speculation surrounding his rapport with Kohli and Rohit, amidst reports of strained relationships. Gambhir sidestepped a direct statement on the matter, instead accepting potential missteps, but swiftly defended his view.
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"I am human, I should be allowed to make mistakes. Players should be allowed to make mistakes. I must have made mistakes in the last 18 months. I do not shy away from that. But I have always believed in one thing: wrong decisions with the right intent are acceptable. But wrong decisions with wrong intent are absolutely not acceptable in that dressing room," Gautam Gambhir said at the Revsportz Conclave in Kolkata.
"Till the time that I am honest with my dressing room and I can talk to them by looking into their eyes, I think I am doing a fair job in my position," he added.
The dynamic between Gambhir and India's cricketing icons Rohit and Kohli has been under severe scrutiny, especially following the duo's Test retirement announcement, with both head coach and chief selector Ajit Agarkar facing flak despite a lack of substantial evidence.
“Till the time I am doing everything with honesty, till the time I can be honest with everyone in that dressing room, I can look into their eyes and talk to them, I think I am doing a fair job with my position. That is something I can live with. I don’t need to clarify anything and everything that appears on social media,” added the head coach.