Gautam Gambhir says Bhaskar Pillai is ruining the future of youngsters in the Delhi team

Delhi is having some tough times in the domestic circuit and to make matter worse former captain Gautam Gambhir and coach Bhaskar Pillai has apparently been involved in an ugly spat with Gambhir allegedly abusing the coach. However, Gambhir has denied these allegations but said that he had a heated argument with him but no foul language was used. He lashed out at him by saying that he is ruining the future of young and budding cricketers.

“There was nothing abusive said to him. Yes we had an argument but that was about the team composition,” a fuming Gambhir was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Gambhir has been recently replaced by teenager Rishabh Pant as the captain of the Delhi team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

“The only problem I had with him throughout the season is that we tried to build a secure environment for the young players who are 23-24. There has been a culture in the past when Delhi players got very insecure. Even during my younger days I faced the same problem. That is why I stuck to a same group of players irrespective of their clubs,” Gambhir further added. Gambhir had tried to take Delhi cricket forward by dropping veterans in the domestic circuit like Mithun Manhas, Punit Bisht and Rajat Bhatia.

“Look at what he has done with Unmukt Chand and Nitish Rana,” the 35-year-old said in reference to what has been done to Unmukt Chand. He was first given the captaincy ahead of the season and now he has been dropped from the team.

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“Unmukt was appointed the captain at the start of the season and now they have dropped him. I believe he didn’t get an IPL contract because he was dropped two days before the auction. Rana has played in Duleep trophy, he is in the first XI of Mumbai Indians and then the coach decides to send him and Pawan Negi back after three bad matches and called back Unmukt. You drop people but you don’t send them back. It hurts their confidence. Don’t ruin their careers,” Gambhir said.

When the captaincy was handed over to Pant replacing a more experienced Gambhir, there were speculations that the cricketers in the Delhi team were not happy with him. But Gauti denied the allegation and said he will quit the team if something of that sort arises. “If any player tells that he was not happy with me, I will immediately quit Delhi cricket. You don’t have to tell me which player it is, I’ll walk out,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by TOI.

“He wants young players. This bunch is already 23-24. Do you want to play the Under-19 team? If you are dropping Unmukt, Nitish on the basis of their performances in Dharamshala, then drop everyone because nobody could score in those conditions. Shikhar and me too should have been dropped.”

“He is lying in front of the whole team when he dropped Unmukt. He told Unmukt that he didn’t like the fact he was keeping wickets for the zone team. He should have said that in the selection meeting. The first day I met Bhaskar, I told him that this is the best bunch we have and we should try to back them. If you want to make changes, then convey it to the players.”

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Despite all the turmoil Gambhir always wants to maintain a good rapport with his teammates. “I have spoken to the players. For me, the players are far more important. Even the last day spoke to them after the argument. Things will get better. There has to be someone to stand for them. Otherwise, there will only be changes.”

Speaking on Rishabh Pant on getting the captaincy Gambhir said he is always with him and will guide him but he has to take decisions on his own. “Not only me, everyone will support Rishabh Pant. The first advice I gave him was to take your own decisions. Decisions will backfire, fail but it should always be the captain’s call. If he is ever in doubt, I am there to help you,” he concluded.