With the former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid ending his tenure with a huge success of gifting the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 to the national side, the newly appointed Gautam Gambhir will have some pressure on his shoulder at the beginning, as he looks forward to sharing the partnership with captain Rohit Sharma.
The first assignment for Gautam Gambhir is the upcoming white-ball series in Sri Lanka, where he will look to prepare the ODI side for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, besides constructing the young T20I side under the newly made captain of the format- Suryakumar Yadav.
The former team-mate in the Kolkata Knight Riders, Robin Uthappa has praised the Indian head coach, saying that his former IPL captain is a terrific man manager and his stint with the Indian team will be nothing but fruitful.
‘Gautam Gambhir is a thorough gentleman’- Robin Uthappa
Before departing for Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir addressed a press conference in Mumbai, in the presence of the chief selector of the Indian cricket team- Ajit Agarkar, where both of them shared their thought process on where they would look to take this team.
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‘He has been an incredible man manager. The narrative that is set about him as a player on social media is one that is quite ‘Gambhir’. But, I think, individually, he is a thorough gentleman.’ The former Indian wicket-keeper batter Robin Uthappa expressed to ‘India Today’ during a virtual interaction by Sony Sports Network. ‘He will be absolutely approachable. He is someone who is always available, he is very empathetic and he is there for his players.’
The Karnataka-born points out that Gautam Gambhir has the knack of looking after his players, and how beautifully he has mentored for both the Knight Riders and the Lucknow Super Giants.
‘He looks after his players really well and he is someone who provides security for the group. We have seen that, not just as a captain, but in his mentorship roles at LSG and KKR. We have seen the results he has produced with both teams.’ Uthappa was observed during the interaction.
When KKR won their first two trophies during the 2012 and 2014 season of the IPL, Robin Uthappa played a huge role with basketful runs, as expects the former Delhi batter to be as effective for the blue brigade as Dravid was during his period.
‘I don’t think his leadership style will change very much. I just think that his passion and the intensity that he brings to this team will be different. He will expect high standards, and he will maintain a high standard himself as a leader.’ The wicket-keeper batter Uthappa remarked.
‘I think he will be a very fair leader and he is someone who provides security to his group. So, I think Rohit and Gautam will make a different combination than Rohit and Dravid, but I think it will be as effective.’ The 38-year-old threw light.
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There have been examples of Gambhir being aggressive in the field, but all of his actions have come on the back of helping his team. Uthappa said that his expectation from the former KKR mentor would be to help the team thrive under pressure, just like he did as a player.
‘He has always been someone who has thrived under pressure. He is someone who looked at the big stages as places of opportunity. As far as I am concerned, I look at him similarly as a leader of this group.’ The veteran elaborated. ‘He will look for the big opportunity, he will try and get that same attitude and the same kind of performance from his players.’
The first biggest challenge for Gautam Gambhir will be the upcoming five-match Test series in Australia before the Champions Trophy 2025.
