"He's an astute leader.." R Sridhar requests fans not to rush in judging new India head coach Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir will kick off his India head coach tenure with the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

Former India fielding coach R Sridhar has made a plea to the Indian cricket team fans to not jump in judging new India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s methods and capability as the national team’s new head coach.

Gambhir will take charge of the Indian men’s cricket team with the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, which will be followed by home test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand before the team travels to Australia for a high-voltage five-match test series. Gambhir’s contract runs until the end of 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.

Gautam Gambhir is someone you can go to when you are in a problem: Sridhar

Sridhar, who was part of the fielding coach during Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India’s head coach, lavished praise on Gambhir as a coach and a person. He worked with Gambhir briefly during the 2016 home Test series against England.

Speaking with Khel Now, in an interaction organised by Sony Sports Network, the official broadcasters of India’s tour of Sri Lanka, Sridhar said that the fans need to be patient with the new head coach and Gambhir shouldn’t be judged solely on results.

Sridhar said, “Very briefly, he was part of the Indian team in 2016-17 when I was part of the coaching staff. So I have some very fond memories of the interactions we have during the India-England series when he came.

“He is an astute leader; a great mentor as he’s shown in the IPL. He is someone you can go to when you are in a problem; he will listen to you. He has got the stature and credibility. I think he is a terrific fit for the job.“

The former India fielding coach added, “The only thing we as fans and stakeholders is not rush to judge him with the results, as results don’t define a coach. It is his culture, vision and philosophy which defines a coach. I am sure Gambhir would do a great job.“

Watch the full interview here:

India’s tour of Sri Lanka consisting three T20Is and three ODIs will be played from 27th July to 7th August. It can be watched live on Sony Sports Ten 5 & Sony Sports Ten 1 in English, Sony Sports Ten 3 in Hindi and Sony Sports Ten 4 channels in Tamil & Telugu. Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster for India’s tour of Sri Lanka 2024 in India.

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