Will BCCI’s Gamble On Gautam Gambhir As India’s New Head Coach Work?

Will BCCI’s Gamble On Gautam Gambhir As India’s New Head Coach Work?

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CricketMens Cricket

BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced appointing Gautam Gambhir as head coach  of Team India for all three formats of the game.

Gautam Gambhir succeeds the T20 World Cup-winning coach, Rahul Dravid who finally broke the jinx for Team India of not being able to win a major ICC Event for a long time even after consistently coming precariously close to winning one.

 

With Gautam Gambir’s appointment, the new coach will have a tough challenge ahead of him to continue the Team’s winning momentum and to fill in the expectations of Indian cricket fans for more ICC trophies

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Gautam Gambir will need to keep the consistency of the current Indian team in all formats which will be a tough assignment from day one.

Gautam Gambhir as head coach

As per reports, Gautam Gambir will travel with the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series as his first assignment as head Coach for Team India.

Why call Gautam’s appointment a BCCI Gamble?

Gautam Gambir as a player was India’s go-to man in major ICC tournaments and his performance was always of the highest order.

He was instrumental in helping India lift the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup under the leadership of MS Dhoni. His knocks in the Semifinals and the Finals helped India become World Champions.

Gautam Gambir was known as a blunt critic of the game during and after his playing time. His comments often ended up in controversy.

Gautam Gambir, a True Nationalist with unquestionable patriotism, openly spoke on India’s position on Kashmir and why he backed the Indian government’s decision to sever cricketing ties with Pakistan. This made him hugely unpopular among Pakistan media and Pakistan fans.

As a player, Gautam always played the game at a very competitive level and with his heart on his sleeve every time. Sometimes this aggression also has led to altercations with his opponent team members during the match.

His famous Altercations with Pakistan Players and Australian Players are often spoken about.

His altercation against Virat Kohli (a person with a similar temperament as Gautam) in an IPL match is considered a ‘Popcorn moment’ in IPL history.

Like Rahul Dravid, Gambhir too had an impeccable international career as a player.

Unwanted Comparison

Rahul Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri as Team India coach who too proved a great coach for Team India. An ICC Trophy eluded Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid was given the task to break this jinx in ICC events. Rahul Dravid took India to the WTC Finals, and ODI Finals but failed to cross the final hurdle till Team India finally won the 2024 T20 ICC World Cup. This was Rahul Dravid’s last assignment as Team India coach. Gautam Gambhir will face unwanted comparison with Rahul Dravid due to his stature as a player and the legacy Rahul Dravid leaves as the Indian National team coach.

Gautam Gambhir’s Success in IPL

  • Gautam Gambhir as a player and captain, helped Kolkata Knight Riders to back-to-back IPL Titles.
  • After retirement, Gautam Gambhir took on the mentorship role for Lucknow Super Giants. He not only helped in selecting a good pool of players in the auction but also guided the young franchise to reach back-to-back playoff positions.
  • In the 2024 IPL, Gautam Gambhir took up a mentorship role for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after KKR had a poor 2023 edition clouded with internal feuds.
  • Gambhir with coach Chandrakant Pandit took bold decisions and helped KKR win their 3rd IPL Title.

Not Power Hungry

After winning back-to-back titles for KKR, Gautam Gambhir moved to Delhi Capitals, but resigned soon due to poor form and unselfishly handed over the captaincy to Shreyas Iyer.

Gautam Gambhir’s Style

  • According to IPL teammates, Gautam Gambhir is a very expressive person for his team and has a clear thought process on how the game should be run.
  • He has strong opinions and is unwilling to compromise for the good of the team. He also makes bold decisions for the team.

This strictness may have worked in a Franchise game situation wherein being assertive helps to bring players to the same page as they come from different countries with different approaches to the game. But will that work in a National team Scenario?

Will we see another Greg Chappel Episode?

BCCI’s Big Trust in Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir has been given a free hand by the BCCI to run the Indian team with complete authority. This also displays the credibility, the former southpaw Indian international has in the cricketing circle.

In the next 2 years, Gambhir has the chance to target multiple ICC Trophies for Team India with 3 ICC Events scheduled.

T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be playing ODI format till the Champions Trophy and Test format till the World Test Championship in 2025. Their services may not be available after these two major tournaments which may help Gambhir to play the big brother role in a young Indian squad (which is his strength).

With many of the current batch of players retiring, there will be additional pressure on Gambhir to build an even more potent side to defend their World T20 Title in 2026.

SuperSports360 Views

Super Sports team views that Gautam Gambhir will blend into his new role very efficiently and will bring a new level of aggression into the team.

Gautam Gambhir himself has played all the 3 formats of the game. His association with IPL franchise to date will help him to identify new talents.

Apart from ICC tournaments, he will understand how a team would need to be built to beat England and Australia on their home turf.

A big Thumbs up from our Team and all the very best to our New Coach – Gautam Gambhir

Team India coaching

Gautam Gambhir – The Philanthropist

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