Gutsy to the core, jovial off the field — Gautam Gambhir has big shoes to fill as Team India coach

Those who have shared with him the dressing rooms at various points vouch that he was always committed to team’s cause. They say his aggressive image is restricted to the field.

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, ThePrint.com

Published: July 9, 2024 

New Delhi: During the Indian cricket team’s tour of Pakistan in 2006, a functionary of the Pakistan Cricket Board fondly recalled his visit to Gautam Gambhir’s Delhi home the previous year. Shahzad Akhtar was visiting India with the Pakistani team in 2005 and had expressed his desire to meet Gambhir to one of his Indian friends.

His friend took Akhtar to Gambhir’s home. “I can’t forget the one hour I spent with him and remember how hospitable they were. I was quite embarrassed. They, especially Gambhir’s mother, treated us to dry fruits and fruit juices and made us comfortable. Gambhir asked me about Shoaib Akhtar’s speed as he wanted to face him in an international match,” Akhtar told me in Lahore in January 2006 when India and Pakistan were playing the first Test of the series. “And when I met Gambhir here [in Lahore] a few days ago, he immediately recognised me. What I like most about him is his down-to-earth demeanour and his innocent looks.”

Gambhir, 42, was aggressive and temperamental on the field. But the Akhtar visit shows he has a different side when away from the heat and dust of competitive cricket.

 At that stage, Gambhir was still pretty new to international cricket — he had only played 13 Tests and 11 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) by then, having made his ODI debut in 2003 and Test debut in 2004. He would eventually retire from the game in 2018 after an impactful career, having played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

 Soon after retirement, Gambhir took the plunge into politics, contesting and winning the East Delhi parliamentary seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.

 But before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Gambhir announced that he would not contest and returned to cricket full time. Even during his five-year political stint, he turned to mentorship of Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. And he has now taken over the reins of the Indian team as coach from Rahul Dravid, just a few weeks after mentoring Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL crown.

Interestingly, Gambhir has never coached a team. Before joining KKR as mentor ahead of the 2024 season, he held the same position with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for two years (2022 and 2023), and on both occasions he steered the new franchise to a creditable third position.

 Smooth transition

 Gambhir’s elevation to the post of India coach has taken the IPL route. He first captained KKR to two titles in 2012 and 2014, besides helping the team to qualify for the knock-out round in 2011, 2016, and 2017. Under his leadership, KKR looked unbeatable at times. In 2014, the Gambhir-led KKR won nine straight IPL matches and six in the now-defunct Champions League T20. He returned to the Kolkata-based franchise in 2024 as a mentor.

 As for his coaching credentials, Gambhir has only his achievements as mentor of the two IPL franchises to show. But, the counter-argument is that as a national coach, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel; it’s more about motivating and guiding players, besides strategising. Even Greg Chappell didn’t have the experience of having coached a national side when he joined as India coach in 2005.

 However, as a player and captain, Gambhir has been phenomenal. In bilateral cricket he has been quite prolific: 4,154 runs in 58 Tests, 5,238 in 147 ODIs, and 932 in 37 T20 Internationals. His contribution to India’s two triumphs — the 2007 T20 World Cup (227 runs, including 75 in the final) and the 2011 World Cup (393, including 97 in the final) — is priceless. In the IPL, he has scored 4,217 runs at a strike rate of 123.88 in 154 matches, with 36 half-centuries (492 boundaries and 59 sixes). So, he has the numbers to back his stature as a competent left-handed opening batsman — and, as a successful captain.

 Temperamental, aggressive

 Some are apprehensive that Gambhir’s temperament may be his undoing as India coach. Others wonder how he would handle the likes of Virat Kohli — with whom he has had on-field flare-ups — and captain Rohit Sharma, who have been his India teammates.

 Those who have shared with him the dressing rooms of various teams — ONGC, Delhi, India Under-19 etc — over the years vouch that he has always been committed to the team’s cause. They say his image of an aggressive cricketer is restricted to the field of play. Off the field, they say, he is jovial and cracks jokes with his teammates.

 Former India left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi, Gambhir’s senior in the ONGC and Delhi teams, is among those who swear by his commitment to the teams he represented.

 “He has been passionate and completely committed to the team’s cause. He has a philosophy – the team comes first and a player can’t put himself ahead of the team’s interests. He respected the team ethics, and never tried to please anyone,” says Sanghvi, who has been manager of the Mumbai Indians for several years. “When as a youngster he came to the Delhi camp, he didn’t tell anyone about his background — that he came from an affluent family. He simply practised with us.”

 Sanghvi, who played 10 ODIs and one Test between 1997-1998 and 2000-2001, underlines Gambhir’s commitment as Delhi captain to pick horses for courses, and back them. “I had stopped playing after the 2006-2007 domestic season, though I hadn’t announced my retirement. Then, when Delhi, under his captaincy, qualified for the knockout round of the Ranji Trophy the next season, he requested me to be ready to play if the pitches at neutral venues, used in those days, encouraged for inclusion of my type of bowler,” he says.

 “I had not even trained for months, but he insisted that I should be ready, if needed — and I did. Although I was eventually not required to play as Delhi went on to win the Ranji Trophy in 2007-2008 — after 16 years — I was part of the dressing room for the semi-finals and the final.”

 Picked & backed players

 As Delhi captain, Gambhir handpicked players and backed them to the hilt. He even copped criticism for picking a few from outside Delhi, ignoring the local talent and claimants. Navdeep Saini, Sumit Narwal, and Kulwant Khejroliya were among those he brought from outside Delhi. Saini went on to represent India in Tests and ODIs.

 Pace bowling-all-rounder Narwal is grateful to Gambhir for getting him to shift from Haryana to Delhi in 2007-2008. Gambhir pitch-forked him straight into the Ranji Trophy semi-finals against Baroda. Narwal didn’t disappoint, and bagged four wickets in the first innings as Delhi won by seven wickets — with Gambhir scoring a match-winning 132 — and stormed into their first final in 11 years.

 “I am thankful to him for going out of the way to pick me for Delhi. On the eve of the semi-final, he told me not to get tense and stick to my natural bowling style,” says Narwal. In the final against Uttar Pradesh, Narwal bagged five wickets as Delhi emerged winners by nine wickets, with Gambhir scoring an unbeaten 130.

 Former India pacer Parvinder Awana is another player who received full backing from Gambhir. “He supported me and gave me the freedom to bowl while fielding at mid-on or mid-off positions,” he says. When Awana made his T20 International debut, against England in 2012, Gambhir was part of the Indian team.

 Gambhir has been a gutsy cricketer — a fighter who conceded no quarter on the field, nor sought any. Even injuries didn’t deter him from putting his best foot forward for the team. “In the 2007-2008 Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium, he badly bruised his palm, but despite the injury and discomfort, he went on to score a century that helped us win the title,” recalls a member of the Delhi support staff.

 Tough on field, jokes outside

 Unlike his on-field image of a serious, aggressive, in-your-face cricketer (remember his famous skirmish with Shahid Afridi) who was ready to pick a fight — or elbow an opponent (Shane Watson in a Delhi Test) — those who know Gambhir well say he is entirely different off the field.

 Gautam Vadhera, a former India Under-19 batsman from Delhi, has closely known, watched and observed Gambhir since their days at New Delhi’s Modern School. They later played together for ONGC and later Vadhera, several years senior to Gambhir at school, watched him as an administrator as well.

 Vadhera says Gambhir is a misunderstood person in several respects. “We go back a long way, and would have long cricketing discussions at school. In contrast to Gautam’s on-field image, he is jovial off it and even cracks jokes, though he is not very talkative and is shy. In the evenings, he is a completely changed person [from the one] you see on the field during the day,” he says.

A couple of years ago, I asked Gambhir about his on-field image. “It doesn’t bother me, honestly. That’s the kind of person I am and have always been. It has always helped me, and it has got the best out of me. So, I don’t have to change according to what other people think about me. I’ll change only if it is not working for me, or if it’s hampering my performance. Whether I am intense or aggressive or temperamental or non-emotional or sensitive – all these emotions don’t really matter. All that matters is what works for you. See my performance, not the kind of person I am,” he said emphatically.

Gambhir credits Rahul Dravid for teaching him to be calm while batting together for India. “He instilled in me a lot of calmness on the cricket field. Looking at him just from the non-striker’s end, just his aura and his persona, gave me a lot of calmness. That’s why we had some massive partnerships in international cricket,” he told me a few years ago.

Attention to detail

Gambhir is a well-organised and punctual person. Even when he played and lived out of his suitcase, changing hotels after every match, his hotel room would always look neat and clean.

“He would not carry many bats for matches; just three or four. His kitbag would always be inside the wardrobe. The clothes he would wear the next day for the match would be hung in the wardrobe, and his other stuff would always be inside the suitcase. He does everything to pin-point accuracy – from taking food to medicine to waking/running on the treadmill, and practice etc. He is so well-organised that he seems robotic,” says someone who has known Gambhir closely for years.

“And he continues to train and remain fit even after quitting cricket almost six years ago. When he was playing, his weight was around 83kg, and it is now under 80kg. When he had to travel a lot as a member of Parliament (2019-2024), he would keep count of his steps taken and complete the day’s quota, if required, on the treadmill.”

 The Langer connection

 When Gambhir was dropped from the Indian Test team after the home series against England in 2012, he sought help from former Australia batsman-turned-coach Justin Langer, having met him during Champions League T20. He flew down to Australia and spent some time with the left-hander. During his stint in Australia, he did kick-boxing twice a week as part of a training regime.

 Although Gambhir was recalled to the Indian team in 2014, he was only picked for four more Tests before being dropped for the last time.

 Gambhir and Langer seem to have forged a close friendship long ago. While leaving Lucknow Super Giants in 2023, after mentoring the IPL franchise for two years, he recommended Langer’s name to the team owner and the Australian was appointed in Gambhir’s place at LSG. “Although he left Lucknow for KKR, Gambhir’s relationship with the LSG owners has become stronger, if anything,” stresses the source.

 Now, Gambhir will need to build such strong bonds with the Indian team in the dressing room, too.

 (The writer has covered cricket for over three decades, based in New Delhi. He tweets at @AlwaysCricket)