Sanjay Bharadwaj, who coached Gautam Gambhir as a child, has mentioned that people sometimes mistake Gambhir’s strong desire to win and succeed for being arrogant. Referring to him as a ‘kid’, Bharadwaj, who has been associated with Gambhir for over thirty years, defended his most well-known student. Gambhir was recently named the head coach of Team India, following a successful stint as mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2024. Despite the widely known conflicts between Gambhir and other cricket personalities like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, his coach thinks he is misunderstood.
In a conversation with former U19 World Cup winner Manjot Kalra on Kalra’s YouTube channel, Bharadwaj said, “Gautam Gambhir is like a child. Even now, he is like a pure-hearted child. He doesn’t have any bad intentions. He is like a 12-year-old kid.”
“Some people believe he comes across as arrogant, but that’s just how he feels about winning,” Bharadwaj explained. “I would have him play games after practice, and he would get upset if he lost. He never liked losing, even when he was younger,” Bharadwaj continued.
Bharadwaj praised Gambhir for helping many young players develop their skills, defending his attitude.
“Some folks say he has a bad attitude or other issues. But that’s not true. Gambhir is a good person at heart. He’s kind and has helped many young players build their careers,” Bharadwaj stated. He mentioned the case of fast bowler Navdeep Saini, who got his chance because Gambhir pushed for it.
“If you stay in your comfort zone and always smile, will you succeed? Someone who knows how to win should also know how to avoid losing,” Bharadwaj explained.
Gambhir started his role as the head coach of Team India with a good result, as India won all three T20 matches against Sri Lanka. Gambhir was commended for improving India’s strategy, with Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav being given important roles.
“Gautam Gambhir won’t focus on the technical details,” Bharadwaj mentioned. “Instead, he’ll concentrate on the strategic parts. Gambhir’s main task will be to raise the team’s spirits and give confidence to players who might be unsure of themselves,” he continued.
