Explained: 4 reasons why Gautam Gambhir deserves to be India's head coach

In a recent piece of developments, the name of the former World Champion India opener is running on the front among all other speculations and assumptions. Just a few days back, a couple of media reports learned that the BCCI are in continuous discussion with the KKR mentor to rope him in as India's next head coach, succeeding Rahul Dravid after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024.

The board is currently in desperate search of a new guy to take over as the new head coach of India’s Men’s Cricket Team as the tenure of the current head coach Rahul is set to end with the conclusion ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, the upcoming prestigious cricket biennial will be the last major international assignment of Rahul Dravid as the head coach senior men’s team.

Meanwhile, the two names prominently making rounds in media as the potential ‘head coach’ of the Indian team, are former Kiwi stalwart Stephen Fleming and the former World Champion Indian batter Gautam Gambhir. Amongst these two, Gautam Gambhir is currently the frontrunner in the list to be the successor of Rahul Dravid.

Having said that, here we’ll have a look at the 4 reasons why Gautam Gambhir deserves to be India’s head coach

Here’s a look at 4 reasons to appoint Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach:

His results in IPL with KKR and LSG

Gambhir started his mentorship with the LSG franchise in the Indian Premier League 2024, which was also the debut season of the Lucknow Super Giants. Having Gambhir as a mentor, LSG made it to the playoffs of the tournament for two consecutive seasons in IPL 2022 and 2023.

Later, Gambhir made his way back to his previous franchise KKR, but this time, he returned as the mentor of the team while in his previous stint, the team won 2 titles in 2012 and 2014 under Gambhir’s captaincy. Now, in his mentorship, the black and gold outfits have qualified for the Final of the tournament.

So, considering Gambhir’s excellent results as a mentor also makes his evident about how capable he is in managing the team successfully.

His Composed attitude and team-man spirit

Most of the coaches and mentors in the cricketing world are known for their aggressive and very expressive attitudes when the game is underway. But the case is quite different with the former India great as he has never been seen losing his composure during the active match and never reacted to players’ performances when the match is in action.

So, this might also be a great asset for Team India if Gambhir will be guiding the team as the head coach. It is being said because the attitude and behaviour of the coach with the players matter a lot in the team’s performance there in the middle.

Also Read: A discussion between BCCI and Gautam Gambhir to 'finalize deal' for head coach position, says report

Man for big matches and moments

Gautam Gambhir during his active career, developed an image of a guy who always shows up on the big occasions when the team needs him the most. His knocks of 75 and 97 runs in the T20 World Cup 2007 Final and ODI World Cup 2011 Final played a pivotal role in making India the World Champions on two occasions within only 4 years.

The same intent has been shown by Gambhir with the results he produced as a mentor or the coach of the team. Since starting mentorship in IPL 2022, Gambhir has a successful record of taking his side to the knockout stage for three consecutive seasons, including the ongoing IPL 2024.

Has the ability to point out the necessary wrongdoings directly

Besides his coaching/mentoring skills or success as a cricketer, Gambhir is also famously known for his straightforward approach when discussing anything in cricket. His ‘never hesitant’ attitude has drawn a lot of respect from the fans or other experts, alongside some criticism as well.

However, praise or any criticism could never force the former legendary Southpaw to change his stance. His ability to point out the wrongdoings bluntly and straightaway in the face of anyone is going to be a big element in India’s success.

Also Check: Gautam Gambhir comes up with special 'Shri Krishna' post after KKR's IPL 2024 title win, fans react