Former India batsman Dinesh Karthik has shared his views on the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of Team India. The former India opener recently replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the team.
Dravid’s impressive tenure came to an end last month following India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign. During Dravid’s tenure, India enjoyed success across all formats. In 2023, the Men in Blue won the Asia Cup and reached the finals of the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship. And last month, they won the T20 World Cup to end India’s 11-year wait for an ICC trophy.
Following Dravid’s impressive tenure, Gambhir will have a tough task as the head coach of the team. The Indian great will be the head coach of a team for the first time and will hope to live up to expectations.
And while only time will tell how things pan out in the coming days, Dinesh Karthik is confident that his former India teammate will put up a good display. Recalling his time at Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) when Gambhir was leading the team, the former wicketkeeper-batsman said that the newly-appointed India side are tactically very astute.
“First of all, when I played for Delhi Daredevils in the initial years, Sehwag was the captain but in the third year it was Gautam Gambhir. He was a very good captain, tactically very astute and I was the vice-captain under him,” Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz.
He is a very good leader: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik spoke about what Gautam Gambhir would bring to the Indian dressing room. Karthik praised Gambhir as a players’ man and said that he would help the players in the team. He also said that Gambhir would bring a “smart tactical angle” to the Indian team.
“He is a very good leader. I think he will bring two things to the Indian team. One, the fact that he is a complete player,” Karthik said.
“He protects his players and that is very important in international cricket because sometimes you can feel alone or abandoned in international cricket when performances don’t go as you expected.
“Gambir is going to do that and secondly, he will definitely bring a smart tactical angle to this Indian team. He is a very fierce and intense guy and I always like to play for the team and I did whatever it took to win a cricket match,” Karthik added.
Meanwhile, Gambhir’s tenure as India coach will begin later this month with the tour of Sri Lanka. India are scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against the Islanders.
