The grand celebrations of India’s T20 World Cup win might be over, but the hangover of the historic win still lingers. Now that Gautam Gambhir is on board as the new head coach, the dynamics are expected to be different when Team India takes on Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series, starting Friday in Pallekele. Gautam Gambhir has recently being successful for Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) on his return as coach and would love to replicate the same success post Rahul Dravid era.
India usher into an era without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or Ravindra Jadeja in the shortest format. The onus will be on the youngsters with the leash in the hands of Suryakumar Yadav, who flourished under the wings of Gautam Gambhir during the latter’s IPL days in the KKR outfit.
Gautam Gambhir takes coaching duties for India from SL series 2024
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir is all set to start his tenure as the new Indian head coach with the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Gautam Gambhir has taken over the office as the successor of the legendary Rahul Dravid who put an end to his tenure on a high note with the historic triumph in the recently concluded edition of the T20 World Cup 2024 and made India two-time T20 World Champions. Former Sri Lanka player Russel Arnold believes Team India will be more fierce and competitive in the Gambhir era.
Gambhir has Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as his assistant coaches both of them have worked with him in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp and were in the same roles. However, there is still no confirmation on who will be taking up the role of India’s bowling coach. Sairaj Bahutule will be taking up the role of Interim bowling coach for the Sri Lanka tour.
Sri Lanka legend Russel Arnold believes Gautam Gambhir is a winner and whatever franchise he has been involved with has shown good results. He said his approach might be different from Rahul Dravid but that change will only be good for players as it will keep them on their toes.
Russel Arnold analyses the likely impact of Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as India’s coach
Former Sri Lanka batter Russel Arnold reckons that the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as Team India’s new head coach is a positive move. According to Arnold, players tend to get comfortable after a while in a familiar environment and a change of personnel can keep them on their toes.
Gautam Gambhir has replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the senior Indian men’s team. In his last assignment as India coach, Dravid guided the Men in Blue to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The white-ball series in Sri Lanka, starting on Saturday, July 27, will be Gambhir’s first assignment as India’s coach.
Speaking to News 18, Arnold shared his thoughts on the big change in Indian cricket. Praising Gautam Gambhir, he described the former India opener as someone who knows how to handle people and deliver results.
“So sometimes players, when we play, we are able to go out there and perform, but then it becomes a challenge to get a message across, and get others to perform, which Gautam Gambhir has shown that he can do. We definitely know it’s going to be a different style,” Arnold told the website.
“There’ll be a bit of adjustment for people to come to terms with Gautam Gambhir, but I think the change is also good because then you become too familiar with one system and hence they’ll be shaken up, maybe even woken up that you still need to get better and you still need to perform a lot more,” the 50-year-old concluded.
The India vs Sri Lanka series will begin with the first T20I at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The remaining two T20Is will also be played at the same venue on July 28 and July 30.
Suryakumar Yadav on Gautam Gambhir
While Gautam Gambhir has been named India’s new head coach, Suryakumar Yadav also takes over as T20I captain from Rohit Sharma. Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar were once teammates at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL and are said to share a great camaraderie.
Highlighting his equation with the coach, Suryakumar said at a pre-match press conference:
“Our bond has always been special. From 2014 till now, it has been exactly 10 years. In 2018, I joined another [IPL] franchise and he joined another franchise. But we used to talk regularly about the game. When he used to play with another team, I used to play with him. We used to discuss the game to see if we could do better in that match.”
Meanwhile, after the conclusion of the T20I series India will play three ODIs in Sri Lanka from August 2 to August 7.