Why coach Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli are likely to get along in the Team India dressing room

At the start of this year, Gautam Gambhir was facing a dilemma. With the general elections a few months away, the then Lok Sabha MP wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue as an active politician. At the back of his mind was a lucrative offer made by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders’ owner Shah Rukh Khan. The superstar wanted his one-time captain to return as coach.

After consultations with friends and family, those in his inner circle say, Gambhir made up his mind to return to cricket. In his moments of indecision, what guided him in taking the call was a line from poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s famous poem: “Mann ka ho toh achha, mann ka na ho toh jyada achha (If you get what you wish for, it’s good; if not, it’s better)”.

The switch back to cricket has proved fruitful for him. After taking KKR to the 2024 IPL title and getting credit for the team’s turnaround, Gambhir, 42, has now replaced Rahul Dravid as India’s new coach.

India’s drought in major ICC titles may have ended with the T20 World Cup triumph, but the dream to win the Test championship mace and the ODI crown is yet to be quenched. Gambhir, known for his strong opinions, now gets that chance. As a player, he had a phase when he reached starry heights in famous India wins — the 2007 ICC World T20 and 2011 ODI World Cup triumphs. Now, after the recent T20 World Cup triumph, Gambhir’s appointment has raised expectations.

India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life. I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat. But my goal is the same as it has always been, to make every Indian proud. The men in blue shoulder the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians… pic.twitter.com/N5YyyrhXAI

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) July 9, 2024

Gambhir’s acknowledgement to the announcement of his new job was typical in character. He didn’t have his face or or any old picture of him with World Cup trophies pasted on the post. Instead, it was the national flag that took prime estate with a text that ran: “India is my identity… I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat… The men in blue shoulder the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians and I will do everything in my power to make these dreams come true!”.

Coming from most others, it would have seemed like a platitude or even a cliche, but this is quintessential Gambhir.

In the past, the general preference has been for calm and composed coaches like Gary Kirsten, Rahul Dravid and Duncan Fletcher, also successfully veering towards the flamboyant Ravi Shastri. Seen in that respect, Gambhir would stand out for his searing intensity, overtly-nationalistic vibes, and in the way he sees the sport itself.

By his own admission, he wasn’t someone who even enjoyed the game; he didn’t find much pleasure in it. “I don’t think I enjoy cricket too much, to be honest. I think for me, cricket is something which is my priority,” he had said famously.

India will see that priority translated on the field now. Gambhir is among the few Indian cricketers who don’t see the game through the lens of star players. In theory, he is least likely to be swayed into emotional decisions over the longevity of star players, but, going by his own example, he is not likely to cast out players because of age.

He himself made a late comeback, though unsuccessful, in Test cricket, after doing the hard yards and completely reinventing his technique and stance. It was also seen in his backing of West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine, generally thought as past his prime, and all-rounder Andre Russell in the IPL.

Much has been said about Gambhir’s relationship with Virat Kohli, but if one were to scratch beneath the surface, both aren’t that different. Easy to take offence, tremendously competitive, with a hatred for losing. It won’t be a surprise if both get on very well in this new relationship. Lest it be forgotten, it was under Kohli’s captaincy that Gambhir made his last comeback in international cricket, and that was after many publicised on-field scuffles between the two in the IPL.

Admiration for Rohit’s captaincy skills

Gambhir has shown admiration for Rohit Sharma’s captaincy skills and the relationship can be expected to be relatively smooth.

He is also known to support the team’s less-celebrated players. This comes naturally to him as he has felt the brunt of it throughout his playing career. He would openly talk about his insecurities. “If I don’t score runs in two-three games, I start getting that feeling that I’m going to get dropped,” he once said.

There is a line that he said recently about the 2011 World Cup final that indicates how the world of detractors see him, and how he sees it. “I wish I had finished that game. It was my job to finish the game, rather than leaving it for someone to finish the game. If I had to turn back the clock, I would go back there and score the last run, irrespective of how many runs I scored,” he said.

The detractors saw it as regret at a missed chance to become a star, a position he never quite achieved with Indian fans as a player, and a jibe at M S Dhoni, who finished that game.

Gambhir sees it as an honest statement of his own failure to finish the game and do what the team needed from a set batsman at that juncture.

In the Gambhir era as coach, fasten your seatbelts for more such frank, unadulterated, star-system-puncturing and eyebrow-raising quotes, but know that the car is being driven by a passionate man whose motivations generally tend to lie on the righteous side. How he balances that emotion and passion will determine his success.

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