"He started off a little slow..”- Sourav Ganguly assesses Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India head coach so far

Gautam Gambhir took over as India’s head coach from Rahul Dravid post the T20 World Cup 2024 win.

Former Indian Cricket Team captain Sourav Ganguly has shared his thoughts on India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s performance in the position so far. Gambhir took over as head coach in 2024, when Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended after India’s ICC T20 World Cup win in June.

Although increasing red-ball setbacks have put Gautam Gambhir’s status under examination, reports indicate that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) still supports him for the time being. Gambhir has led India to significant success in white-ball cricket, but he has not yet proven himself in the longer format.

Under Gambhir’s leadership, India has already lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia for the first time in ten years and lost a home test series to New Zealand. With his extensive experience, calm leadership, and profound comprehension of the demands of red-ball cricket, Sourav Ganguly might emerge as a formidable candidate for the position if the team’s difficulties in test cricket continue.

“Gautam Gambhir is doing a good job.” – Sourav Ganguly

Now that Ganguly has publicly expressed his desire to lead Team India, Gambhir is under intense pressure to perform well in the current five-match test series in England. He could lose his position across formats if he suffers another defeat in a test series.

“Gautam (Gambhir) is doing a good job. He started off a little slow, losing to Australia and New Zealand, but he picked up with the Champions Trophy. This is going to be a big series (vs. England).“

“I haven’t seen him from very close in this role, but I know he is very passionate. I haven’t observed his strategies closely because I haven’t worked with him as a coach. He’s very straightforward, he sees things clearly, and he’s very open about what he feels about the team, players, people, everything. From the outside, you can tell he’s a very transparent person—what you see is what you get,” Ganguly said in an interview with PTI.

Ganguly recalled his playing days with Gambhir. Notably, Gambhir made his India ODI debut in 2003 under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.

“I’ve played with him. He was a great guy with a lot of respect for me and the senior players. Even now, I can see he is extremely passionate about his job. I wish him all the best. He’s just a year into the job, and this will be an important (England) tour. He struggled a bit in Australia, but just like everyone else, he’ll learn, he’ll grow, and he’ll become better,” Ganguly signed off.

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