Gambhir told to stop ‘blame game’; even Kohli, Rohit could be among 'targets': 'There was no Sarfaraz in BCCI meeting'

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has urged Gautam Gambhir to “play a role” in stopping blame games within the team amid furore over the dressing room leaks

Among the fallout of India's disastrous run in the 2024/25 season, which culminated in them missing out on the World Test Championship Final for the first time, is the controversy around details of head coach Gautam Gambhir's words for the players being leaked to the media. Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has said that news like these never do any good to the team environment and urged India to sort it out with the 2025 Champions Trophy approaching.

It was reported that Gautam Gambhir blamed Sarfaraz Khan for leaking his words in the Indian dressing room to the media. (AFP)

“There are talks that Sarfaraz (Khan) leaked the dressing room talks and the board meeting conversations were leaked. This is not a good sign; it affects the team unity. The faster it ends, the better," said Basit on his Youtube channel. The dressing room leaks were brought up during the BCCI's review meeting on January 11 and it was reported that Gambhir blamed Sarfaraz for it. "There shouldn’t be any blame game and Gautam Gambhir needs to play a role here. There was no Sarfaraz in the (BCCI review) meeting,” said Basit.

The 54-year-old further said that India needs to beat England in their upcoming ODI series at home. The rubber is pretty much a dress rehersal for the Champions Trophy for both teams, with the tournament starting on February 19, just a week after the third ODI is played in Ahmedabad.

"You have a different team in the Champions Trophy. If you win against England, it will be better for the team but if you lose against them the confidence level will go down.

'Such news are spread to affect the team environment'

Basit said that the the BCCI chairman Roger Binny, the selectors, captain Rohit Sharma and the players all need to be on the same page to form a good team. He further said that news such as the leaks does nothing good for the team environment and the players should be guarded against it. The former batter then stated that even when news reports end up targetting the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or himself.

“Like PCB, there are four pillars – chairman, selectors, captain and players. They need to be together to form a good team. They should have same mindset. Similarly for BCCI, all these four pillars should be on the same page. Such news are spread to affect the team environment and media plays a key role. Whether it’s targeted towards Virat, Rohit or another group at Gambhir,” said Basit.