Former Indian captain and renowned commentator Ravi Shastri has welcomed Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as the head coach of India, calling it a refreshing change for the team.
Former opening batter Gambhir, earlier this month, was confirmed as the new India head coach, preceding Rahul Dravid, who stepped down after overseeing the team’s perfect T20 World Cup 2024 campaign.
Ravi Shastri, who also worked as the head coach of India, expressed confidence in Gambhir’s abilities and ideas, which resonate with the requirements of modern-day cricket.
“He’s contemporary, he just had a great season in the IPL. I think he’s the right age where he’s young, he’ll come with fresh ideas,” Shastri said on Gambhir on the ICC Review.
“He knows most of the players, especially in the white-ball format, having been part of teams in the IPL. So I think it’s refreshing.”
For the unversed, Gambhir recently served as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ mentor in the recent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), leading them to their third title.
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Prior to that, Gambhir had mentored Lucknow Super Giants during IPL 2022 and 2023 and helped them reach the playoffs in both editions.
Shastri also expressed his belief that Gautam Gambhir would experience significant advantages from being part of a mature and well-established team.
“And we know with Gautam, he’s a no-nonsense guy. He’ll have his ideas as well. And the good thing for him is he’s got a mature team. He’s got a settled team, a mature team,” he added.
“I think even though you might think you’re mature, you might benefit from some fresh ideas. So I think it’ll be an interesting time.”
However, the former head coach thinks that the major challenge for any coach is player management.
“Obviously, player management becomes the key as a coach. So it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. I think he’s got the tools, he’s got the goods for the job and he’s got the experience.”
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