"It's about Indian cricket, not the coach" Sanjay Manjrekar on the hype of new head coach Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir will kick off his India head coach tenure with the Sri Lanka tour, starting July 27.

Veteran commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a fresh dig at the hype of Gautam Gambhir, who is the new India head coach. On the day Gambhir will make his debut as India’s head coach, Manjrekar tweeted about how the Indian World Cup-winning sides have been about the Indian cricket team and not the coaches.

Gautam Gambhir succeeds Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach. Dravid’s tenure ended last month with the Men In Blue lifting the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 trophy in Barbados.

Then, a young Indian side toured Zimbabwe for a T20I series with VVS Laxman as the interim coach. The Sri Lanka tour, starting July 27, will kick off the Gambhir era in Indian cricket. Gambhir has been handed a contract until the World Cup 2027.

Sanjay Manjrekar jibes at the hype of Gautam Gambhir among the fans

With Gambhir winning the Indian Premier League 2024 season as the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, the hype of him as India’s head coach has reached a height that was not seen with any of the previous coaches of the Indian cricket team.

Manjrekar took to Twitter to name the coaches under whom India won their four world titles – India didn’t have any coach in their 1983 World Cup triumph – and added that the success is about the Indian cricket team.

“No coach, Lalchand Rajput, Gary Kirsten & Dravid. Coaches when India won WCs in 1983, 2007, 2011 & 2023. It’s really about Indian cricket, not who the coach is. Time we stop thinking there is a direct correlation,” Manjrekar tweeted.

Ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, Gambhir outlined his philosophy as a coach.

Gambhir said, “It is very simple. It is important to give players freedom – that’s what I believe in – and not have a relationship of a head coach and a player.”

“The best relationship is one built on trust. The most important thing is they’ll always have my backing. I don’t complicate too many things.”

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