Former Indian World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir heaped praise on Cricket Australia (CA) for trusting their former players and hiring them as the head coach of the team. The Baggy Greens have been one of the most dominant teams in International Cricket, easily winning ICC trophies against quality opponents, with their most recent triumph coming against India in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The Australian team has performed exceedingly well in recent times and has won several ICC trophies recently, including the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai, defeating India in the World Test Championship final, and regaining the Ashes series in 2023. Australia is one of the most successful teams in the 50-over World Cup, having won six championships, including the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
Speaking on Sportskeeda, Gautam Gambhir highlighted Australian team coach staffs for a long time, where they have trusted their home-born coaches to deliver well for the team, noting the success of Justin Langer and Andrew McDonald. The former opener believes India and Pakistan should take a page from Australian cricket.
“Who was the last non-Australian coach of the men’s team? Their head coach is always Australian. They had Justin Langer, now Andrew McDonald, and before them some other Australian. I said this a year back that India and Pakistan should have coaches from their own country and people had criticized it a lot. A lot of people said that we won under Gary Kirsten [as coach in 2011],” Gautam Gambhir said.
The Australian cricket team nails it with steely nerves in tough situations in the game. The ruthlessness with which the Baggy Greens have played the game has been a major contribution to their success over the past many decades. They just do not allow the opponent to settle in and command the game from the start, which was the reason behind their success in the game.
We Have Players Who Have Won Us World Cups – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir believes that emotions play a crucial role in sports because they motivate players and their coaches to give their absolute best for the team. He senses that no foreign head coach will possess the same level of zeal that Rahul Dravid did when serving as an Indian head coach.
“The emotion that Rahul Dravid will have when he wears that white or blue T-shirt, no foreign coach will have that. We have such a rich history, we do not have to look outside. We are not a nation that has started playing cricket 10 years back. We have players who have won us World Cups.”
“Emotions are very important in sports – what you think about your country and your team. Australia’s biggest strength is that they never look at foreign players as head coach. They will hire consultants, but not for the long term because they believe in their people. We need to do the same,” Gautam Gambhir added.
The Men in Blue had a remarkable campaign under his coaching in the marquee event but fell short of the well-deserved title on home soil. Throughout his tenure as head coach, Rahul Dravid played a great role in the team’s success and they achieved some historic feats under his leadership.
