Reports: Gambhir not on same page with Agarkar, India have 'heated' selection meeting over Shreyas Iyer and second wicketkeeper's spot

Gautam Gambhir recently won his first ODI series as the head coach of the Indian team as the Men in Blue whitewashed England 3-0 at home. During the series, the Indian batters produced some excellent performances.

Meanwhile, after a long time, the Indian middle-order looked formidable, with Shreyas Iyer batting superbly at No. 4. The Mumbai batter wasn't part of India's initial playing XI in the first ODI. However, he made the cut after Virat Kohli suffered a knee injury.

Iyer grabbed his opportunity with both hands and scored two half-centuries in the series, finishing with 181 runs from three matches at an average of 60.33. However, a report in the Times of India revealed that there was a "heated" selection meeting over Iyer's retention. One of the major reasons behind this was Gambhir's inclination to have left-right combinations in the batting order.

The report further revealed that the Gambhir-led Indian team management went against BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar by backing KL Rahul. The former India speedster, during his Champions Trophy presser last month, had confirmed Rishabh Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper for the ICC tournament and the England ODIs. However, captain Rohit Sharma along with Gambhir preferred continuity as Rahul featured in all three matches against England.

"Selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar, while announcing the Champions Trophy squad, had claimed Pant was the first-choice wicketkeeper. As it turned out, Pant is the only player in the squad who didn't get a game in the three ODIs in the England series. Sources indicated that there had been heated debate in the selection meeting around retaining Shreyas Iyer in the team and over the second wicketkeeper's slot," read the TOI report.

During his final presser before India's departure for the Champions Trophy, Gambhir revealed that Rahul is the first-choice wicketkeeper in the marquee event and not Pant.

“Ultimately, it’s very difficult to talk about individuals, but all I can say is that if Pant is a part of the squad, he will get an opportunity. But at the moment obviously, KL is our number one wicketkeeper, and he’s delivered for us. When you have two wicketkeepers in the squad, you can’t play both with the kind of quality we’ve got. Hopefully, whenever he [Pant] gets an opportunity, he should be ready for it,” Gambhir said.

Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025: ICC set to release additional tickets for India's matches and first semifinal on February 16

Rahul failed with the bat in the first two matches but scored a quickfire 40 in the last game. He has an excellent record batting at No. 5 for India in ODIs as he averages a staggering 56.47. Pant, on the other hand, has not lived up to his potential in white-ball cricket, averaging 33.50 after 31 ODIs.