Bangladeshi superstar batter Tamim Iqbal has warned that we are yet to see India coach Gautam Gambhir’s real character and it will come out once India starts losing matches. His words came during day one of the second Test between India and Bangladesh being played in Kanpur from September 27, 2024.
Gautam Gambhir took over as India’s head coach from Rahul Dravid, whose tenure came to an end after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win in June.
Gambhir’s first assignment as India head coach was the tour of Sri Lanka, where India won the T20Is 3-0, but lost the ODI series 0-2. During the ODIs, a major flaw in Indian batting was exposed as they were unable to play spinners of tracks that helped turn.
In Gambhir’s debut Test as coach, India cruised to a 280-run victory over Bangladesh in Chennai, securing their place at the top of the World Test Championship standings.
India has a demanding Test calendar in the current WTC cycle; after the series against Bangladesh, India will host New Zealand for three Tests before traveling to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Gambhir will also oversee India’s T20I matches against Bangladesh and South Africa before the journey Down Under.
Parthiv Patel opened up in detail about the positive feedback he received about Gambhir’s handling of things in the Indian camp.
“You can get carried away because India got success under Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri. And there’s a chance that you don’t want to change. But at the same time, it’s important that you bring your own way. And the stories coming out of the dressing room are that people are relaxed, and there’s an intent of winning Test matches.
You tend to perform better with that, and there’s no extra pressure. We all know, he is clear with his messaging. There’s no grey area, it’s either black or white. That’s why India have been very sure about their approach,” Patel said on JioCinema.
India won the toss, which was delayed due to wet ground, and opted to bowl first.
“Let India have a bad game, Gautam Gambhir’s real character will come out”: Tamim Iqbal
On the other hand, Bangladesh’s legendary opener praised Gambhir’s suitability for the role but warned that India had yet to suffer substantial setbacks during his term. Tamim stated that the man’s “real character” will only be revealed by how he handles the losses.
“When you’re winning, you don’t know the real character of the man. It’s only when you lose a series, then you lose another, that the real character comes out. No doubt, he is a capable man, but it’s too early. Let India have a bad game, then we will see what comes out,” said the Bangladesh legend.
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