Gautam Gambhir, the new Team India head coach, unveiled his strategy for the Indian team in ODI cricket. Gambhir will be tasked for guiding team India in the coming three and a half years, as he was announced by BCCI secretary Jay Shah as the next India team coach on July 9.
Since the 2011 World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup winner was named as India’s coach, there’s been growing anticipation. Gambhir has a reputation for being able to lead a group of young people to success, as evidenced by his IPL success with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gambhir’s first task as head coach of the Indian cricket team is to lead the team on a visit to Sri Lanka for the T20I and ODI series.
The majority of the seniors who participated in the 2024 T20 World Cup are anticipated to have either retired from the T20Is or been rested from the ODIs. The squad will be outstanding, and the announcement of the members is imminent.
Star Sports, released a video of 2023’s Gautam Gambhir talking about One-Day International cricket and making some thought-provoking remarks ahead of the announcement.
“First you need to identify players, who have got their fearless approach as well, probably in a format like 50 overs. You need to have a mixture of players. You need players who can anchor as well. Change in rule has made a huge difference. During that time you had one new ball. Now you have five new balls with five players inside. So, the role of a part-timer has gone out of the window. You don’t see enough reverse swing. You don’t see enough purchase for the finger spinners as well,” Gautam Gambhir said in the video.
Gautam Gambhir became India’s head coach after guiding KKR to IPL 2024 title as the team mentor.
Some people just cannot adapt…: Gautam Gambhir speaks on his strategy in ODIs
Gautam Gambhir will face his first major assignment next year when India plays in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. The World Test Championship final is also another prospect. It will be followed by the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup.
With ODIs being the focus leading to the Champions Trophy, Gambhir’s words last year about identifying players who can play aggressively in ODIs also ring true. Gambhir also said that some players just cannot adapt to the new way of playing in a 50-over format.
“But I always feel, when you talk about this new approach, you got to identify players who can adapt to those roles, or to that template very easily. Some people just cannot adapt to a template so why push them to play a certain way which doesn’t come naturally to them. So, for me identifying players and at the same time getting the right mix is very, very important rather than thinking that we have to play in a certain template, so we have to select all the 15 with a similar mindset or a similar template,” said Gambhir.
Why is it important to have a balanced mix of players in a team?
How have rule changes affected selection?📹 | Watch Team India Head Coach, @GautamGambhir, discuss team formation, new approaches, and player identification.#MenInBlue #Cricket pic.twitter.com/bMoiJf08Cm
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 16, 2024
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