Former Indian star all-rounder Ravi Shastri has an advice for India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir before the all-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Ravi Shastri wants Gambhir to remain calm and composed during this upcoming tour.
Gambhir is going to be under significant pressure, especially since India faced a disappointing 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand in a recent home Test series. Ravi wants Gambhir to understand the strength and weaknesses of his players, along with suggesting him to not make rash decisions and a more thoughtful approach to team management.
“I think would be the first thing would be to be calm, you know, don’t let outside elements, influence you in any way. Because of that, don’t get into a position where knee-jerk reactions happen. Get to understand your players. You will see them in bad situations, you’ll see them in India, you’ll see them in overseas, you know, you will, notice what it takes for a player to click. You will understand situations of a team where a certain player might be better than the other,” Ravi Shastri said.
Ravi also said that it takes time to build strong relationships with players. He emphasized the importance of Gambhir being open-minded and understanding all the players. Ravi even talked about the need for Gambhir to respect the sensitivities of each individual and guide them towards success.
“It took me some time to understand everyone. He might have seen them from the outside of the IPL, and he might have sat with a few players in the dressing room when he played the game, but there are a lot of other players and they come from different mindsets, different cultures, and different parts of the country. And for you to dig deep and understand their mindsets would be the most important thing. There could be a player, you know, who’s an introvert, but actually, if you push him out there and give him the confidence, he could be a match-winner for you,” Ravi concluded.
India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal.
