Former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri has backed Gautam Gambhir to succeed as the head coach of Team India. Gambhir was appointed as the head coach ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, marking his first international assignment in this role.
He succeeded Rahul Dravid, who concluded his tenure with a triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024, where India led by Rohit Sharma defeated South Africa in the title clash in Barbados last month. Gambhir officially took charge as head coach with the teamโs first practice session under his watch ahead of the T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting on July 27.
Speaking to ICC Review, Ravi Shastri believes that Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach at the right time and age, given his familiarity with most of the players in the current white-ball set-up that will enable Gambhir to produce extraordinary results as the coach.
"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." Shastri said.
"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," he added.
Before becoming the head coach of Team India, Gautam Gambhir served as a mentor at Lucknow Super Giants (2022 and 2023) and Kolkata Knight Riders (2024) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). At KKR, Gambhir played a vital role behind the scenes as he helped the team clinch their third title of the tournament, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Final.
Interestingly, Gautam Gambhir won two IPL titles with Kolkata Knight Riders as a captain in 2012 and 2014. Gambhir's return to Kolkata-based franchise as a mentor changed the team's fortunes in IPL 2024 after having disappointing campaigns in 2023 and 2022, where they failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Ravi Shastri highlights Gautam Gambhir's important task
Ravi Shastri highlighted Gautam Gambhir's important task as head coach, stating that he first need to understand the players as quickly as possible, especially strengths and weaknesses.
"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?" former India head coach said.
"A lot goes behind the scenes to understand a human being. I think that will be his most important task, which I think again should not be a problem because he's contemporary." he added.
Gautam Gambhir is the youngest coach in the history of Indian cricket. Having played for India in 242 international matches, Gambhir is expected to bring a wealth of experience and deep understanding of the game during his tenure as the head coach.
