It hasn’t been the start that the new head coach of the Indian team, Gautam Gambhir, would have hoped for to begin his tenure. Despite a cracking start in the T20I series by a 3-0 margin in Sri Lanka, they went on to earn a series defeat in the ODI format against the same opponent. The expectation was high from the Delhi-born to make a smooth transition of the team in the longest format.
India started their home season with the two-match Test series against Bangladesh in Chennai and Kanpur. But the top order of the batting department didn’t fire in the opening red-ball game, only for the lower order to save them from their tough position. At the Green Park stadium, the aggressive version of the game plan, of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, was praised a lot.
But they hardly anticipated the series result against New Zealand, and that too with a 3-0 margin. The experienced batters struggled badly against the spinners on the low and slow turners of Pune and Mumbai, besides being questioned multiple times in Bengaluru against the quality pace attack of the visitors on the wet surface.
Gautam Gambhir gets full support from Rohit Sharma despite 3-0 clean sweep
Before the tour to Australia for the five-match red-ball series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, this has been a huge setback for the Blue Brigade, who will now be needed to win four of their last five clashes in the series. The pressure has been huge on the management to back way into winning ways.
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Gautam Gambhir made his name for the potential coaching tenure of the Blue Brigade on the back of his time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who, under his mentorship, partnered with their captain Shreyas Iyer and claimed their third title of the tournament, first one since the 2014 season of the league’s history.
Following the third Test defeat in Mumbai, Rohit was asked to highlight his view on the new coaching tenure of Gautam Gambhir and his support staff, including Abhishek Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate. The Nagpur-born indicated that it was the lack of performance of the players and the responsibility, for others to step up.
“Yes, the coaching staff have been good. They have just come in. It’s not been a lot of time for them. They are also understanding how this team operates and how the player operates. This is the first Test series loss in the two-Test series that they have been.” The Indian Test captain revealed in the post-match press conference.
It has been the early days for those coaching set-ups led by Gautam Gambhir, who will be needed to offer a few weeks down before getting gelled into their work. Rohit admitted the difficulties, for the coaches to come in and get them going because of their different methods.
“Look, it’s the players’ responsibility to make their job or make their life easier because it’s never easy for anyone to come in and start doing what they are doing, you know, because there are a lot of different individuals here, and they operate slightly differently.” The Nagpur-born suggested.
“So, it’s important for the players to make sure that they know what they are, what the thought process is of the coaching staff to align on those thought processes and, you know, take it forward. Like I said, it’s been only four or five months now, too early to judge anything, but they have been good with the players.” The World Cup-winning coach concluded.
It will be high time for Gautam Gambhir and co. to come up with better planning for their five-match Test series in Australia, which starts on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.