Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Gautam Gambhir
He said maintaining a sense of security within the dressing room was important and that players who had delivered over a longer period should be backed. Asked how he planned to keep the players motivated with the series decided, Gambhir said representing the country should be motivation enough. India have plenty of options on the bench, with teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi still waiting for an opportunity despite his performances. “First of all, my job is not to make everyone happy. My job is to take the right decisions, not the popular decisions. India had already sealed the five-match series against New Zealand by winning the first three games. “You’ve obviously got to remember that it’s an international game. Everyone knows how few privileged players get the opportunity to represent the country. For me, every game is an opportunity to do something different, to learn something, to evolve. “And that is exactly how we approach the game. I think there are no dead rubbers in my philosophy, in my ideology, and exactly the same philosophy applies in the room as well.”
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have continued to open the innings and played key roles in India’s successful defence of their T20I World Cup title earlier this year. And that is what I’m there for,” Gambhir told the broadcasters ahead of the fifth T20I against New Zealand on Sunday.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir said his responsibility was to make the right decisions for the team rather than please everyone, stressing that players who have performed consistently deserve a longer run. Gambhir also spoke about the short turnaround between India’s previous assignments and the New Zealand tour. The team had played back-to-back home series against Afghanistan and the West Indies, along with the Asian Games, before travelling to New Zealand.