BCCI slams rift rumours in Indian dressing room

Chief selector Sandeep Patil

New Delhi: Insisting that all is well in the Indian cricket dressing room, BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur and chief selector Sandeep Patil yesterday dismissed reports about a rift between limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Test captain Virat Kohli.


Chief selector Sandeep Patil

The rumours started when Kohli questioned the on-field decision making during the disastrous ODI series against Bangladesh, but Patil insisted that the team is not a divided house.

"There is no confusion. Seriously, we have not heard of anything. Vikram Rathour and Roger Binny were there with the Indian team on the tour of Bangladesh and we are constantly in touch with the team management. It is up to you people to guess and write," Patil said after announcing India's squad for the Zimbabwe tour.

The comments of Kohli and Dhoni during India's first bilateral loss to Bangladesh were interpreted as a situation where the two were not on the same page, but Patil said that people should not read too much into the post-match comments.

"There are many comments that we get to hear. At the moment we have not discussed that matter. We are concerned about the Zimbabwe tour," said Patil.

Regarding the appointment of an Indian coach, Thakur said that the high-profile advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman will take a call on this matter.

"The cricket advisory committee is looking into the area and shortlisting names for a future coach. Once we meet in the month of July, we will discuss the issues," said Thakur.

Asked about the proposed Pakistan tour of India in December this year, as per the MOU signed between the boards of the two countries, Thakur said, "No decision has been taken yet and the issue will be discussed at a BCCI meet in July."