Cricket legend AB de Villiers has explored the cracks in the Indian dressing room, which was first exposed by an Indian Express article.
An Indian Express article reported how a senior member of the Indian team was posing as ‘Mr Fix It’ in place of captain Rohit Sharma under a cloud due to his form issues.
AB De Villiers held a live session on his X handle after India’s 1-3 loss in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia where he spoke extensively about the importance of having a positive dressing room atmosphere.
Asked about the leak in the dressing room, De Villiers said: “I know there have been rumours. I’m not surprised. If there’s smoke, there’s fire. I have been part of dressing rooms where there was hostility. Especially when you are away from home, missing your family and not playing the best cricket in your career.
“The dressing room is important, especially away from home. It’s easy at home. I have no doubt that the dressing room of the Indian team may have lost that in the last few weeks in Australia. If you start to distrust each other, you can sit on the sides and pass the trophy. I have no facts about the Indian dressing room. I will wait for the facts to see who has been messing with whom!”
EXCLUSIVE: Indian senior cricketer, aspiring interim captain, describes himself as ‘Mr Fix-It’
De Villiers on the importance of dressing room
De Villiers then talks about his experience with the South African team.
“It is very easy for bad things and bad habits to enter the dressing room. We also faced Australia in 2006, losing 2-0 in Australia and again losing 3-0 in South Africa. We lost five out of six Tests. It wasn’t even the sun and roses in that dressing room, we were arguing with each other,” he said.
Asked by De Villiers how important the dressing room is, he said: “It’s everything in my opinion. Those are the kinds of things I believed in when I was captain of teams. For me, it was non-negotiable. The dressing room had to be honest, the guys were honest with each other, there was a lot of spirit and atmosphere, and we always respected the guy next to you. If you have that, even if you lose you still have a good dressing room.
“One of my lowest moments: like at Eden Park (Auckland) in the semi-finals of the 2015 ODI World Cup. When we realized we wouldn’t go through to the final after losing to New Zealand, the dressing room was still tight! We were holding each other, I have never felt such a tight fist. I couldn’t get my words out. I felt like I had a band of brothers around me. It’s those kind of moments that build character.”
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