Things have not really gone well for Gautam Gambhir as Team India’s head coach so far. The former India opener replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach in July last year following Team India’s victorious campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Before his appointment, Gautam Gambhir had helped Kolkata Knight Riders win the IPL after a gap of ten years. He had plied his trade as a mentor for the franchise. Unsurprisingly, expectations were sky-high from the Indian legend. However, the former cricketer has not really lived up to the expectations.
Under him, India lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka before suffering a humiliating 3-0 loss in the home Test series against New Zealand. The defeat was India’s first series defeat at home in more than a decade. In their last assignment, India lost the five-match Test series against Australia by a margin of 3-1. It was India’s first Test series defeat against Australia since the 2014/15 season.
The two heavy losses also ended India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC final for the third time in a row. With things not going well on the field, Gautam Gambhir is facing the heat from several quarters.
Mohammad Kaif’s advice for Gautam Gambhir:
As Gautam Gambhir looks to turn things around after some dismal results, he has received some much-needed advice from his former India teammate Mohammad Kaif. The former India batsman has said that Gambhir should take a leaf out of his predecessor Rahul Dravid’s book.
Kaif said that the India head coach should learn from his mistakes just like Dravid did. The former cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that even though Dravid did not win any trophy in the IPL, he corrected his mistakes and fired India to glory in the T20 World Cup.
“Gautam Gambhir should learn from the mistakes he has made. Just like Rahul Dravid, who didn’t win any IPL trophy but corrected his mistakes from that stint and spearheaded the team to victory in the T20 World Cup. Gambhir will also have to learn the same way,” Kaif said during a live session on Instagram.
Team India will now be shifting their focus to white-ball cricket. They are scheduled to play five T20Is and three ODIs against England later this month before participating in the all-important Champions Trophy next month,
The T20I series against England is scheduled to begin on January 22. The series opener will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Chennai (January 25), Rajkot (January 28), Pune (January 31), and Mumbai (February 2) will be hosting the next four T20Is. On the other hand, Nagpur (February 6), Cuttack (February 9), and Ahmedabad (February 12) will be the venues for the ODI series.
For the Champions Trophy, Team India are in Group A alongside reigning champions Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand. The Men in Blue will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 before taking on Pakistan three days later. India’s final group game is against New Zealand on March 2. Team India will play all of their games in the UAE.