Gautam Gambhir will be eager to win during his tenure as India head coach, said Jonty Rhodes, his former colleague in Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Gambhir took over as India head coach from Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended after Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup 2024 win.
The first assignment for Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach was the three T20I and three ODI tours of Sri Lanka. While India registered a 3-0 series win in T20Is under new captain Suryakumar Yadav, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, India lost the ODI series 2-0.
This was the first time India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka in 27 years and Gautam Gambhir’s strategies came in for criticism. Rhodes, who previously worked with Gambhir at LSG, will discuss how Gambhir was involved in franchise decision-making when KL Rahul was injured during the 2023 IPL season.
“I know how passionate he is”- Jonty Rhodes on Gautam Gambhir
He also stated that everyone could sense Gambhir’s passion and desire for perfection from the teams with whom he is connected.
“It is fascinating because, you know, I only had the one season with GG at LSG where he was the mentor and and KL had a very bad thigh strain halfway through the tournament. So, GG certainly was a lot more from a mentor point of view. Got a lot more in involved with decision-making, what was going on.
And I know how passionate he is. You know, he looks for excellence on and off the field, but he doesn’t expect players to do something that he never did or he won’t do. So. I think from that point of view, he’s somebody who’s not gonna be lenient with anybody unless it’s required because he’s expecting. He just wants excellence. I mean, he wants the team to win, and it’s not for his record or for what he can achieve,” Rhodes was quoted by India Today.
Rhodes stated that Gambhir is a pleasant person off the field but maintains a serious demeanor in the dugout. The South African icon stated that he believes the India coach’s approach is ideal since it allows him to control his emotions and maintain consistency.
“Every team that he’s involved in, he’s wanted to win desperately, and you see the way that he bats, the way that he captains. He’s so passionate, so involved in the game. I think any time there’s a change, whether it be the leadership from a captaincy point of view or from a coach and management, it’s going to take an adjustment. So you know, once they find their feet, we know India has the strength and the talent pool and the depth of talent to certainly allow him to hit the ground and pick up speed very quickly in his coaching career,” said Rhodes.
Gautam Gambhir will be very busy in the coming months as India is set to face Bangladesh and New Zealand at home, playing five Tests and three T20Is.
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