‘When there’s smoke there’s fire’
Cricket legend AB de Villiers has weighed in on the apparent fissures in the Indian dressing room, which were initially revealed an article in The Indian Express.
The Indian Express article had reported how a senior member of the Indian team was projecting himself as a ‘Mr Fix It’ with skipper Rohit Sharma’s spot under a cloud due to his form issues.
AB De Villiers hosted a live session on his X handle after India’s 1-3 defeat in the Border Gavaskar Trophy to Australia where he spoke at length about the importance of having a good dressing room atmosphere.
Asked about the dressing room leaks, De Villiers said: “I know there have been some rumours. I’m not surprised. When there’s smoke, there’s fire. I’ve been part of dressing rooms where it’s been hostile. Especially when you’re away from home, you’re missing your family and you’re not playing the best cricket of your career.
“The dressing room is crucial, especially away from home. It’s easier at home. I have no doubt that the Indian team dressing room might have lost that a little bit over the last weeks in Australia. When you start losing faith in each other, you might as well sit on the sides and hand over the trophy. I don’t have facts with regards to the Indian dressing room. I’ll wait for facts to see who’s been niggling with who!”
EXPRESS EXCLUSIVE: Senior Team India cricketer, who harbours a desire to be the interim captain, is actively portraying himself as ‘Mr Fix-It’
De Villiers on importance of dressing room atmosphere
De Villiers then spoke about his own experiences with the South African team.
“It’s very easy for bad stuff and bad habits to creep into the dressing room. We also had that against Australia in 2006 when we lost 2-0 in Australia and then lost 3-0 in South Africa. We lost five out of six Tests. It wasn’t sunshine and roses in that dressing room, we were squabbling with each other,” he said.
Asked how important a dressing room environment is, De Villiers said: “It’s everything in my opinion. That’s the kind of stuff I believed in when I captained teams. For me, it was a non-negotiable. The dressing room needed to be truthful, guys were loyal to each other, there was great atmosphere and spirit, and we always respected the guy next to you. If you have that, even if you’re losing you still have a good dressing room.
“Some of my lowest lows: like at Eden Park (Auckland) in the semi-finals of the 2015 ODI World Cup. When we realised we’re not going to make it to the final after losing to New Zealand, the dressing room was still so tight! We were in a huddle and I never felt a huddle so tight. I could hardly get my words out. I felt like I had a group of brothers around me. That’s the kind of moments that build character.”
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