Gautam Gambhir has already won his first T20I series as a coach and has one match left to play. Venkatesh Iyer, a key component of KKR over the years, has now shed light on why Gambhir is a special mentor.

Gautam Gambhir has leveraged some of his KKR tactics that brought him success in his first assignment as head coach of Team India. He has maintained a left-right combination in the batting order in both T20Is so far and has made the best use of his bowling resources.

Riyan Parag’s delivery and wicket-taking have been a clear example of how Gambhir is a brilliant reader of the game and the conditions. He is also very direct and intense in his coaching style, something Iyer got a taste of earlier this year with KKR.

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Venkatesh Iyer recalled Gambhir’s message to the team after their loss to Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. The Kings chased down 262 against KKR, which is their all-time highest chase in T20.

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Iyer spoke about the candour with which Gambhir responded after KKR’s defeat. It was after that match against Punjab Kings that KKR won all their matches in a row until reaching the final. In the final against SRH, Gambhir’s KKR registered their third title.

“We were all in shock but what he told us was the absolute truth. He told us that we did not bowl and that we did not stick to our plans. The meeting we had that day was revolutionary because after that meeting, it was our bowling that enabled us to win every match in the IPL. That is a day that all the KKR players remember because that was when things started to change for us,” Iyer recalled.

Iyer further recalled how Gambhir came up to him and patted him on the back when the left-hander was sent to bat at number seven after scoring a fifty in their previous match against RCB batting at number three.

“For a mentor to come and talk to me like that means a lot. And also before the season, the way he talked to me, the way he treated me, because I didn’t score much in the practice matches, but still he gave me the confidence to go out and express myself in the tournament,” Iyer said of Gambhir’s class.

Venkatesh Iyer praises Gautam Gambhir’s unparalleled dedication towards his Tas At Hand

The KKR all-rounder further said that Gautam Gambhir stands out from the number of coaches he has worked with as he understands when to put pressure on a player and when to show empathy towards him.

“GG’s biggest quality is his passion and unmatched dedication towards the task at hand,” he says. “There is an aura there that makes you put the team before yourself, and that is his biggest quality,” Venkatesh Iyer said in his interaction with ESPNCricinfo.

Gambhir’s stint as India’s head coach will run till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup. In the meantime, his biggest challenge will be to ensure a smooth transition for the Indian team across all formats. He has made a good start with the T20I team but his real challenge will be against Australia in the Test series later this year, followed by how he handles the BCCI’s position in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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