It's a universally accepted fact that being the captain of the Indian cricket team, regardless of format, is one of the toughest jobs in international cricket. But then, spare a thought for the head coach. More often than not, the blame for strategies that backfire, batting order changes that don't work and plans that go awry is also laid at the doorstep of the coach. Gautam Gambhir, a veteran of over 200 international matches for India and someone who was instrumental in India winning two World Cup finals, and who captained and mentored the Kolkata Knight Riders to a cumulative three IPL titles, experienced exactly that, the hard way. From the time he took over the reins of the team, which also has cricketers he himself played with, like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the Indian team ship hit some rather choppy waters.
Coach vs Player
There's no point pretending that everyone was happy with Gautam's appointment as India head coach. Eyebrows were raised. After all, he didn't have any coaching experience. Some former cricketers pointed out that there is a big difference between being a mentor and coaching an international cricket team. The critics were armed with an extra dose of vitriol when the team experienced historic lows like losing a bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, being whitewashed in a three-Test series at home for the first time, and then, of course, relinquishing the Border-Gavaskar trophy after a decade. But though he found himself in the eye of a storm of scathing criticism, the one thing that didn't change was his no-nonsense approach towards the game—this time as coach.
What a lot of people don't take into account when it comes to top-level athletes is that almost all of them have their own, extremely individual style of approaching the game, and it's almost always set in stone. That style and the way they tackle difficult situations is what gave them incomparable success as active athletes. How can one realistically expect someone to change his or her core personality just because they are now coach and not a player? That just does not happen.
A Rough Start
Gautam took over as India head coach right after the 2024 T20 World Cup title win. The level of euphoria was high. Rahul Dravid, a very different kind of personality, had taken the team to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World title. The period of adjustment, of familiarising oneself with how things are inside the dressing room, therefore will be a longer one for Gautam. It would be fair to say that he was predominantly approached to take over as coach because of his track record of getting results with KKR. When similar results didn't materialise for the Indian team, understandably, the reaction of many fans was to say that the wrong man had been given the job. But what one must not forget is that it's been less than seven months since he took over as coach. That's not a very long time. Sometimes the settling-in phase is longer than one expects. I spoke to Mumbai cricket legend Milind Rege recently, who told me, “Let's give Gautam Gambhir a chance. Let's not hang him so early.”
The only thing that keeps the critics at bay though is success on the field. Gambhir has found some much-needed breathing space, thanks to the commanding 4-1 T20i series win against England followed by an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series. England are no pushovers, and these two series wins have somewhat restored the balance. Fans and critics will have to pack away the brickbats for now. With the Champions Trophy around the corner, it's the perfect head space for the head coach to get a big monkey off his shoulder.
High-Stakes ODI
While the T20i series win was another reminder of the ruthless win machine that the Indian team, which had a win percentage of almost 93 in 2024, has transformed into, it's the ODI success that will be particularly sweet for Gambhir and Co. Not just because the Champions Trophy will be played in the same format, but also because of individual player successes, something that significantly affects the overall team spirit. The fact that captain Rohit Sharma has found some much-needed form is a huge shot in the arm, not just for Rohit the batter, but for the team overall. A captain who leads from the front is one of the most inspiring things in a cricket team. Brendon McCullum brought ‘Bazball' to the England Test team, which Ben Stokes welcomed and incorporated. Are we going to see a similar script play out in Indian cricket? Vice-captain Shubman Gill is in red-hot form in the format with scores of 87 and 60.
Meanwhile, the BCCI's diktat for senior team players to go back to domestic cricket got a huge thumbs-up from Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder, who has taken six wickets in the two ODIs so far, credited his Ranji Trophy stint against Delhi recently, where he took 12 wickets in the match, saying, “What we call the rhythm, the continuity, was in place because my break from cricket wasn't that long.” That will be music to the ears of those who inhabit the corridors of power in Indian cricket. Shreyas Iyer, who managed to hold on to his spot in the ODI XI, is looking good perhaps for an automatic spot, ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal, thanks to his scores of 59 and 44. Varun Chakaravarthy is giving the selectors a happy problem of plenty.
Problems Persist
These days, there is a marked distinction between all three formats. The coach might be the same, but a lot of the personnel are different. Gambhir wants the team to regularly score 250-260 in T20 internationals, and it looks like his style of approaching the game, which is essentially high-risk, high-reward, is suiting the Indian T20i team and also finally seeping into the ODI set-up. The year 2024 had hardly any ODIs for Team India. This year will show us exactly where things stand.
However, while Gautam may be breathing a bit better now, he will know that there's still work left to do. While all his energy will be focused on the ODI format currently, with one eye on the Champions Trophy title, he will know that at some point, he will have to take a good hard look at the Test team, especially with a five-Test tour of England coming up later in the year. He will also be dearly hoping that Virat Kohli strikes form soon in his favourite format. The experiment, if one can call it that, of sending Axar Patel in at No. 5 is working for now, but KL Rahul's form (two and 10 in the two ODIs so far), especially with Rishabh Pant waiting in the wings, needs to be considered. And so does Jasprit Bumrah's fitness.
It's never easy to completely mute outside noise. But it sure goes down multiple decibels when the team is winning. The coach can now focus on fixing the few chinks in the ODI armour as the team eyes the one thing that silences even the staunchest of critics: an ICC title.
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
