Gambhir warns 'this isn’t franchise cricket' before Rohit and Kohli meet, says even Dravid found it tough
PTC News Desk: After the Suryakumar Yadav-led team easily won the opening two games of the three-match Twenty20 International Series against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Sunday, Gautam Gambhir began his tenure as head coach of the Indian men's cricket team with remarkable results. Before the caravan travels to Colombo for the ODI series, which will take place between August 3 and 7, India still has to play the final match, which is set to happen on Tuesday at the same location.
It was Gambhir's first-ever job as a cricket coach, for the T20I series. He has served as a mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants, two Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. However, Gambhir is well aware of the pressures and obligations of playing international cricket because he has a successful career spanning all formats.
The ODI series will be difficult for the former India World Cup winner since players like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul are expected to return. The T20I series may not have presented a test for him.
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The largest task facing Gambhir would be handling the "superstars" on the squad, a source with years of inside knowledge of the Indian dressing room and its operations told ESPN. The source also cautioned that the team's operations differ greatly from those of a franchise cricket team.
"This is not a simple task. It differs from a franchise model in which you set the terms and are in charge. Here, it won't work. It's necessary to answer the phone and talk to players in the Indian dressing room, and Dravid was excellent at doing that. The cricket scene has altered since his retirement, and even Dravid would have faced difficulties when he returned. Now, every player is a multimillionaire and captain of their own team. Dealing with players is therefore Gambhir's main obstacle, the source claimed.
Given that the article included information on the selection procedure for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, it appears that Gambhir has already heard him. Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector for the BCCI, invited Gambhir to the selection meeting since India wants to compete in both the 2026 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy the following year.
However, the latter let the selections run the show rather than imposing his ideas on the committee. His only contribution was to talk to Hardik Pandya about his place in the Indian lineup going forward and the fact that he need to be available for every match India plays.
- With inputs from agencies
