NEWS
Follow UsThe Indian team lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy 1-3, and all the skeletons in the cupboard have started to come out already.
Reports in The Australian have mentioned how the dressing room hasn’t been united on the tour, as players prefer hanging out in their own groups. Then R. Ashwin retired in the middle of the tour, and skipper Rohit Sharma opted out of the last Test after being in poor form throughout the series. Reports about Gautam Gambhir lambasting the players in the dressing room were also made public.
In that context, AB de Villiers, who answered questions from his fans about the BGT and rumours about fissures in the dressing room, indicated that he believes something is not right in the Indian dressing room.
“I know there have been some rumours. I'm not surprised. When there's smoke, there's fire,” de Villiers said.
“I've been part of dressing rooms where it's been hostile. Especially when you're away from home, you're missing your family, and you're not playing the best cricket of your career.
“The dressing room is crucial, especially away from home. It's easier at home. I have no doubt that the Indian team dressing room might have lost that a little bit over the last weeks in Australia. When you start losing faith in each other, you might as well sit on the sides and hand over the trophy. I don't have tact with regard to the Indian dressing room. I'll wait for facts to see who's been niggling with who!”
De Villiers also recounted his experience of playing in tense team environments.
"It's very easy for bad stuff and bad habits to creep into the dressing room,” De Villiers said.
“We also had that against Australia in 2006 when we lost 2-0 in Australia and then lost 3-0 in South Africa. We lost five out of six Tests. It wasn't sunshine and roses in that dressing room, we were squabbling with each other.
"It's everything in my opinion. That's the kind of stuff I believed in when I captained teams. For me, it was a non-negotiable. The dressing room needed to be truthful, guys were loyal to each other, there was great atmosphere and spirit, and we always respected the guy next to you. If you have that, even if you're losing you still have a good dressing room.
"Some of my lowest lows: like at Eden Park (Auckland) in the semi-finals of the 2015 ODI World Cup. When we realised we were not going to make it to the final after losing to New Zealand, the dressing room was still so tight! We were in a huddle and I never felt a huddle so tight. I could hardly get my words out. I felt like I had a group of brothers around me. That's the kind of moments that build character."
