Former India batsman and wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has advocated for head coach Gautam Gambhir to be given more time. India’s series draw with England, according to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting coach and mentor, has given Gambhir more opportunity to improve as a red-ball cricket tactician.
Due to his lack of coaching expertise in the game’s longest format, Karthik believed that Gautam Gambhir was still learning on the job. According to the cricket player-turned-commentator, Gautam Gambhir has assumed responsibility for determining the direction of the Indian cricket squad.
“I think he is currently obtaining what he wants so far. All of the activities involving the Indian squad would now fall under his purview. Give him credit if he does well. I believe he should raise his hand and say, “No, I think we made a mistake here,” if he doesn’t perform well. In the present, Karthik said Cricbuzz, “I believe he should be proud of the work the boys have done and a lot of what the backroom staff has done in the last month and a half.”
He and Shubman are the motivation behind this team: In the run-up to the England series, Gambhir didn’t like his time with India’s Test assignments against Australia and New Zealand, Karthik noted. The former cricket player for India, however, gave Gautam Gambhir credit for his boldness in hand-picking the team and providing new players with opportunities.
“It goes without saying that I believe Gautam Gambhir had a very average series against New Zealand at home. He kept up his fight against Australia. I would have stated it quite differently if India had lost 1-3 here in England after that 3-1 setback. However, I believe he has now taken charge of this team. He personally selected this team. He has made numerous investments in youthful talent. He appointed a youthful captain. He and Shubman [Gill] are the motivation behind this team.
Karthik’s single piece of advice to Gautam Gambhir was to concentrate on taking 20 wickets in Test matches rather than playing it safe.
“The one thing I would ask for—or what I would like him to be—is to take choosing 20 wickets more seriously than he does batting depth. In Test matches, that is essential. He’s a great white-ball coach, in my opinion, and the results are obvious. However, he is also learning on the job while playing Test cricket. He is a young coach.
He hasn’t had enough domestic cricket coaching experience or five-day game coaching to have that level of expertise. He has undoubtedly done more in white-ball, which explains why he seems much more at ease there. He seems to be learning as he goes along. It’s obvious that this is a motivated group of players—it was visible at The Oval—but we don’t know what kind of messages he conveys in the locker room. Karthik said, “You could almost say that they chose a team not to lose.”
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