India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir said struggling stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli still have the hunger to excel and will decide on their Test future keeping the team's best interest in mind.
Gambhir's comments on the two veterans came after India's 1-3 series loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia won the fifth and final Test in Sydney to reclaim the BGT after 10 years, knocking India out of the World Test Championship final in the process.
"See, I can't talk about the future of any player, it's up to them as well. But yes, what I can say is that they still have the hunger, they still have the passion, they're tough people and hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward," he said.
"...ultimately whatever they plan, they will plan in the best interest of Indian cricket."
He wants the star duo to do some soul searching as to where they stand.
"First of all, every individual knows where their game and hunger is. That is the most important thing for any sport and any profession.
"It is not just about the sport, how hungry you are, how passionate you are and whether the team is moving forward with your contributions or not," he pointed out.
Gambhir, in his pre-match press conference, had spoken about honesty in the dressing room. He reiterated the position on Sunday, saying that his responsibility is to be fair to everyone irrespective of their experience and stature.
"If I am fair with only two or three individuals and not with others, then I am being dishonest to my job," he said.
"So, whether it is a player who has not made a debut yet or a player who has played 100 Test matches, the simple aim of my job is that I have to be absolutely fair and equal to everyone," he added.
During his days in Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants, Gambhir often stressed about the need for a happy dressing room. He said that philosophy holds good for the India set-up too.
"If you're committed to what we are doing with honesty, I think that should be fine. And more importantly, to keep the dressing room happy, I have to be absolutely honest and equal and fair to everyone in that dressing room."
Gambhir lauded Rohit for opting out of the fifth Test due to poor form.
"If a leader has taken this decision, I don't think there is any problem. We talked about accountability and that starts from the top and Rohit Sharma started that in the last match," the 43-year-old said.
When asked if there is an acceptance of everything that has gone wrong on the tour, Gambhir was quick to declare that he never runs from accountability.
"The first thing is that the person sitting here will accept the mistakes first. So, don't worry about the fact that the mistakes will not be accepted here," he replied.
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