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Follow UsFor the new head coach of team India, Gautam Gambhir, it was not all hunky dory when he started out as a mentor for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022. He saw success in the first two seasons, but not enough to give him a glimmer of hope of coaching India.
But things changed at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for him — not for the first time in his life, either. Now named the coach of the Indian cricket team, Gambhir has everything set on a platter for him, and all he needs to do is deliver with his ‘win at all costs’ mentality.
He is the chosen one after the entire nation wanted him to replace Rahul Dravid post IPL 2024 success. Can he deliver? That's the question.
Winning matches and series alone is not the expectation from Gambhir. The shrewd cricket mind of his expected to churn out much more than just that. He is expected to build a team of winners who will not get bogged down under pressure. He is expected to create a team that would transition through T20Is and ODIs, gradually in Tests too, and eventualy learn to play without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Here are the challenges that lay ahead of him.
T20Is: Oversee transition of the side
The first assignment for Gambhir will be the team’s tour of Sri Lanka. A white ball tour, it will give the former KKR coach an opportunity to test the new talents against a relatively strong opponent. Certainly, one that's in a different league to Zimbabwe.
It is here that Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal will audition to try and occupy the spots that are up for grabs.
Gambhir would look to develop Abhishek and Parag into batters who could bowl. With Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel present as existing spin bowling options, it will give the Indian captain great options to have the aforementioned two names as trustworthy bowling options.
It will fit best with Gambhir’s idea of multifaceted players being part of his squad. He developed Sunil Narine into a proper hitter with that same idea for KKR. Venkatesh Iyer could also become one of the options for Gambhir to go back to, in case Shivam Dube stops firing.
If Gambhir sees Abhishek as Jadeja’s replacement, Gaikwad and Parag will then compete for one spot in the batting lineup along with Gill.
Captaincy will be another issue that he would need to tackle, and that is where someone like Shreyas Iyer could come into the picture. If Hardik Pandya is to be made the captain, then it would be hard to see Shreyas fit into the team, but otherwise, the KKR skipper could get into the scheme of things and be in the race to replace Rohit and Kohli.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered by Gambhir, but he has time at hand and would look to invest in the process rather than results to have a solid team to defend the T20WC title in 2026.
Key Objectives
- Develop batting all-rounders
- Finalise replacements for Kohli and Rohit
- Groom various captaincy options
- Trust in process rather than results to build a title-defending team
Tests: End the World Test Championship wait, fix the middle-order
Next thing in mind for the former Delhi captain would be to do justice to the format he loved the most — Test cricket. A very gritty player of the red ball format, Gambhir would look to win the only trophy not in the cabinet of the Indian cricket team, the World Test Championship (WTC) mace. He would look to do it in this cycle with the best team by his side. For all we know, Kohli, Rohit, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja might not be available to him for the 2025-27 cycle.
The biggest challenge to this target of Gambhir will be India's tour of Down Under in late 2024. Though India have lost only four Tests out of the 14 that they played against the Aussies in the last 10 years, Gambhir is not the kind of personality that will take his opponents lightly.
India can reach the final of the WTC even if they lose the BGT by beating Bangladesh and New Zealand at home, but knowing how Gambhir operates, it is the tough challenges that will attract him. Thus he would want to march into the final by winning the tour Down Under.
Give direction to the stacked middle-order
Against England, India played Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul in the middle-order along with Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Jadeja. Now, with Rahul fully fit, Kohli back and Rishabh Pant fully fit and raring to go, there is a problem of plenty that Gambhir is set to deal with.
The onus will be on the new head coach to finalise the middle-order keeping both long and short term goals in mind. For the short term, at least, the team would have to be picked keeping in mind the five Tests in Australia and the WTC final in England.
Middle-order aside, Gambhir might also have to start planning for life without Ashwin down the line. The veteran will likely play for at least another year or two, but it will be imperative for India to start grooming players who could potentially replace the Tamil Nadu man.
Key Objectives
- Win / draw the BGT
- Win the WTC 2023-25
- Choose between Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant as wicket-keeper batting options
- Decide on the middle-order and its direction
- Start grooming replacements for Ravichandran Ashwin
ODIs: Win the Champions Trophy, potentially start planning for life after Rohit & Kohli
As the tour Down Under will come to an end, Rohit and co will get ready to play the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be hosted after a gap of eight years. It is supposed to be played in Pakistan and India’s participation remains a question. But the fact that Gambhir’s work will be cut out is unquestionable. Having ended the T20WC drought, India will also want to put an end to the ODI trophy drought, with the side last winning a 50-over competition back in 2013.
Gambhir would also have to decide on whether Rohit and Kohli could continue till 2027 in the ODIs. That will be decided by how India perform in the Champions Trophy. Keep in mind, Kohli & Rohit will be 39 and 40, respectively, by 2027.
But the immediate objective will be to get everything out of the existing senior core and go all the way in the Champions Trophy.
Key Objectives
- Win the Champions Trophy
- Decide on whether Rohit and Kohli will continue beyond 2025
- Start grooming leaders who can potentially succeed Rohit
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