'Indian cricket will be in safe hands till honest people stay in the dressing room.'
Asserting that "debates" in the dressing room should not come out in public domain, India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said he has had some "honest" conversations with his players as only performance can help them stay in the set-up.
Amid reports of unrest in the dressing room, Gambhir sought to douse the fire by declaring that they were "just reports, not truth".
"Debates between coach and player should remain in dressing room. Stern words. They were just reports not truth," Gambhir said in the pre-match press meet ahead of India's fifth and final Test against Australia, beginning in Sydney on Friday.
"Indian cricket will be in safe hands till honest people stay in the dressing room. Only thing that keeps you in the dressing room is performance," he added.
"There were honest words and honesty is important," he asserted.
Gambhir also said he did not have any discussion with senior batter Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma except for strategies on how to win the Test matches.
"Every individual knows what are areas to work on. We have only had one conversation with them (and that is) how to win Test matches," he said.
Although he refused to analyse individuals when asked about the questionable shot selection of players like Rishabh Pant in crunch situations, Gambhir did assert that the team's interest is paramount.
"I don't want to talk about individuals. Team first ideology matters. People can play natural game but in team sport, individuals only contribute," he said.
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