NEW DELHI: As India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir demonstrates a balanced approach combining competitive spirit and understanding. While maintaining his intense desire for victory, he displays genuine concern when interacting with young cricketers facing performance pressures at the highest level, including “putting an arm” around players who need support.
Gambhir acknowledges that his current coaching role differs significantly from his time as a player, when he was known for his aggressive on-field encounters and competitive nature.
“Me?… Nice perception to have. I don’t think so,” Gambhir said when asked during his press conference on Thursday if he was upset behind closed doors after India’s first-ever home Test series loss to New Zealand.
Trailing 0-2, India will aim to salvage pride in the third and final Test starting Friday in Mumbai.
“I’ll be honest, I never expected a very easy run for me (as a coach) because international cricket is never easy. I know that we lost in Sri Lanka, we’ve lost at home as well against New Zealand. It’s not the great place to be in,” he admitted.
“But all we can do is be absolutely honest to ourselves and keep working hard, keep working hard with the group and keep preparing them well and keep getting the results.
“Ultimately, we want to try and win every game that we represent the country in,” he added.
Since stepping into the spotlight as head coach, Gambhir’s tenure has faced more challenges than successes, including India’s first ODI series loss to Sri Lanka in 27 years and a first home Test series defeat in 12 years.
It has been a challenging journey, and the road ahead is no less demanding. India must secure victories in four of their next six Tests – with five matches scheduled against Australia in their backyard – if they are to keep alive their hopes for a spot in the World Test Championship final next year.
“You realise when you are playing, it’s a completely different thing to when you are coaching. You can only control certain things. You can’t just walk into the middle…”
“But yes, it’s also important to give people freedom and sometimes when things aren’t going your way, it’s always better to have your arm around the shoulder of a player, that is important.
“That is something which is probably very important once you end up taking up this coaching job,” he said.
Gambhir stated that while discussing a separate Test team is hypothetical at this stage, India need to identify batters who can withstand the demands of red-ball cricket.
“See, at the moment it’s difficult to answer this question. But going forward, obviously, we will have to identify players who are solid red-ball cricketers,” he said.
“Because ultimately, to get the results, you will have to work really hard for three or four days or (even) five days to be honest. Sometimes, as I just mentioned, it’s important to bat sessions as well.
“If you can bat sessions, we know that we’ve got the bowling attack to take wickets. At the moment it’s difficult to answer because it’s a hypothetical question. But yes, identifying the right red-ball batters is very, very important,” he added.
Gambhir emphasized that India’s first home series loss in 12 years should impact the young players just as much as it has affected the seniors.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Obviously, it’s hurting and it’s good that it’s hurting, because it should hurt,” he said.
“Every time you lose a game, be it at home or be it away from home, it should hurt and that hurt will make us better. Sometimes people say that it should not hurt. But it should hurt.
“When you’re playing for your country, what’s wrong in being in that position? The more, especially for the youngsters, it’s hurting them.
“I’m sure they’re going to push themselves to keep getting better because that is exactly what we want them to be – pushing themselves every day to be a better cricketer and to do something special.”