After Rahul Dravid ended his tenure as Team India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir took the helm. After having a recent successful stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, he made his way into the Indian team. Under his guidance, Knight Riders lifted the IPL trophy after 10 years of wait. Ravi Shastri finds Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as India’s head coach refreshing, citing his fresh ideas, experience, and modern approach.
Ravi Shastri on Gambhir’s Role:
Gautam Gambhir replaces Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach after their T20 World Cup win. His first challenge is the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. Ravi Shastri finds Gambhir’s appointment refreshing, noting his modern approach, fresh ideas, and the right tools and experience for the role.
Shastri said, “He’s contemporary, he just had a great season in the IPL. I think he’s the right age where he’s young, he’ll come with fresh ideas. He knows most of the players, especially in the white-ball format, having been part of teams in the IPL. So I think it’s refreshing.”
Later he added, “And we know with Gautam, he’s a no-nonsense guy. He’ll have his ideas as well. And the good thing for him is he’s got a mature team. He’s got a settled team, a mature team. I think even though you might think you’re mature, you might benefit from some fresh ideas. So I think it’ll be interesting times.”
On Player Management Skill:
Gautam Gambhir starts his new role in all formats after recently winning the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders, where he was a mentor. Shastri noted that Gambhir’s key challenge will be understanding his players as individuals and getting to know their temperaments.
The format Indian coach said, “Obviously, player management becomes the key as a coach. So it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. I think he’s got the tools, he’s got the goods for the job and he’s got the experience.”
Later he added, “It’s a question of just understanding his players as quickly as possible. What their strengths are, what kind of human beings they are and what kind of temperaments do they have. What are their personalities. A lot goes behind the scenes to understand a human being.”
Shastri talked about his success in player management in KKR and LSG. He said, “I think that will be his most important task, which I think again should not be a problem because he’s contemporary. He’s seen these guys from the outside, he’s dealt with a lot of guys who might have played with KKR as well and for Lucknow [Super Giants] when he was there.”
Later he added, “And he’s been around the circuit, the moment he finished cricket and that was not too long ago, he still is around, plays a lot of the legends cricket as well.”
Shastri on Gambhir’s Next T20 World Cup Target:
After several years of failure, Team India finally lifted the T20 World Cup trophy for the second time. After having an exciting campaign, they won the trophy after 17 years. After winning the trophy, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from the T20s. That was a big gap to be filled.
Shastri said that India must find the “right mix” for T20Is since Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja will no longer be available. He said, “I think a lot of the players that won this T20 World Cup will still be around two years later. You mentioned the three players who were retired, but barring them, I think most of the others will be still fit to be in that T20 World Cup team two years down the line in India.”
Later he added, “So I don’t think there’s much to be done there. In fact, you will get a problem on your hands because you’ll have to choose from the new lot that’s coming and there’s some real exciting talent there.”
Lastly, he added, “So I think it’s the other way around. It’s how do you get those guys in there that they’re bursting at the scenes to get it. There’s a queue out there and that will be his biggest challenge, but it’s a good headache when you have that kind of talent.”
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