Gautam Gambhir has made an impressive start as India’s head coach after Suryakumar Yadav’s side sealed the series win with a 2-0 lead in the three matches T20I series against Sri Lanka at Pallekele.
With India yet to play their final match, a BCCI source has fired a warning to Gambhir ahead of the ODI series starting on August 02. The source related to the Indian dressing room has told the media that Gambhir’s biggest challenge will be to manage the superstars in the team and warned their function will be different from Franchise cricket.
Gambhir has worked with two IPL franchises LSG and KKR as mentors. But the T20I series is the first ever assignment in an international career as a mentor.
The BCCI source said that the T20I series may not have been much of a challenge for former India World Cup winner, but the ODI series will, as it is set to feature the return of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.
“It is not an easy task. It is not like a franchise model, where you are the boss and you can dictate terms. That won’t work here. In the India dressing room, you will have to pick up the phone and speak to players, and Dravid was really good at doing that.”
“Even Dravid, when he joined, would have found it a challenge with the landscape of cricket has changed since he retired: everyone is a multimillionaire and is a captain of his respective franchise. So that’s Gambhir’s biggest challenge – dealing with players,” the source said.
It seems Gambhir already heard him, as the report revealed details of the selection process for the White ball cricket for the Sri Lanka tour. BCCI chief selector, Ajit Agarkar including Gambhir in the selection meeting has revealed that India’s eyes are on the Champions Trophy as well as T20 World Cup 2026. But Gambhir did not force his motives on the committee.
According to reports, Gambhir spoke to an all-rounder Hardik Pandya about his demands and agreed with the selector to make him available to play at all times.
Meanwhile, India is set to play their third T20I series on July 30, and the ODI Series against Sri Lanka is set to start on August 02 at R. Premadasa Stadium.
