The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is trying to find a replacement for Rahul Dravid, who will leave his current position as Men’s head coach, post the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, and Gautam Gambhir, the former India opener is ahead in the race.
In the recently concluded Indian Premier League, under his mentorship, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, went on to clinch their third title in the league, which ended a wait for around a decade, when they got the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The sources have also revealed the selection committee to take the final call on the coach selection has already interviewed Gautam Gambhir for the India head coach job, along with WV Raman, as they both could find a place in the coaching structure of the Indian team in some shape.
‘It’s tough but that’s what leaders do otherwise’- Gautam Gambhir
Even though Kolkata Knight Riders had an excellent season in the tournament, the five-time champions, and the joint most successful franchise of the league Mumbai Indians (MI) went through tough times in the last two months for some different reasons outside their game.
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Mumbai decided to get back Hardik Pandya, who was captaining the Gujrat Titans and did a great job, leading them to the title in the maiden season in 2022, and following it up with a runners-up finish in the 2023 season.
Hardik’s comeback wasn’t an issue for the Mumbai fans, but once the management decided to change the leadership by snatching it from Rohit Sharma, who won all of those five trophies for them and handed it to Pandya, the fire broke out.
As a result, from the first game to their last, the new captain of the Mumbai Indians was trolled so badly. It put the India all-rounder under tremendous pressure and the batting and bowling performances too were affected. In the end, the ‘blue brigade’ finished the season with the wooden spoon.
From Hardik’s old home at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to his new IPL home ground at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Pandya was trolled everywhere during the toss, or in the post-match presentation. Even when he came out to bat, or when he stood on his bowling mark, the environment wasn’t smooth at all.
The KKR mentor, Gautam Gambhir was asked how should Hardik have managed the franchise, to which the former captain gave his advice.
‘First and foremost, Treat Rohit Sharma and the youngest member of the team exactly the same way. That’s a tough job but leaders are bound to make tough decisions. They are bound to difficult things as well.’ The former India left-hand opener Gautam Gambhir expressed during a recent event. ‘It is tough but that’s what leaders do otherwise you are a follower. Treat everyone equally, whether someone like Rohit Sharma who leads India in all formats, winning five championships for Mumbai Indians, but if you are a leader, then you are a leader for everyone in the dressing room.’
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The veteran also suggested that as a leader, one should never look at profiles in giving roles to the individual players in the team.
‘You don’t treat a Rohit Sharma differently to someone who is the youngest member in the dressing room. To do that, you need a lot of self-belief, and a lot of courage as well. And that’s for me the first and foremost quality of a true leader.’ Gautam Gambhir reflected. ‘Because you are true to the entire squad o entire bunch of people sitting in that dressing room. You can’t have different roles for different individuals. You don’t look at a profile when you become a leader. Profiles don’t matter to them.’
The announcement of the India coach is expected to be done at the end of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.