Indian Cricket Board president N. Srinivasan Wednesday dismissed as mere speculation growing reports of a rift in the Indian cricket team.
Srinivasan’s clarification came after India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his deputy Virender Sehwag expressed differing views on the team management’s rotation policy in the tri-series in Australia.
“You have no knowledge of what is happening there. I don’t think there is any rift in the team. There are no concerns as of now,” Srinivasan told reporters after attending a meeting of the Indian Premier League’s Governing Council here.
“They (Dhoni and Sehwag) were only responding to questions in the usual media conferences. I have spoken to media manager there and he told me that the reports are exaggerated,” Srinivasan said.
Responding to Dhoni’s view that the presence of the seniors affects the fielding standards of the team, Sehwag had said he did not agree with his captain.
IPL chief Rajiv Shukla said Sehwag was misquoted by the media.
“Sehwag has been misquoted. There is no rift in the team. It is only speculation by a section of the media. I don’t think there is any problem. The Board is in constant touch with the team,” Shukla said.
India have been resting the likes of Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir in the tri-series to give more exposure to the youngsters.
Dhoni, in one of his interactions with the media, had said the seniors were slow on the field. Subsequently, Sehwag said he was unaware of Dhoni’s stand and that the seniors were being rested so that the younger players get an exposure ahead of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.