Asia Cup: India coaching job is protecting players at times of adversity and Gautam Gambhir has ticked that box

India coaching job is protecting players at times of adversity and Gautam Gambhir has ticked that box (AP Photo)

Gautam Gambhir’s stint as India’s coach has not been easy. Losing 0-3 against New Zealand at home and then a 1-3 series loss against Australia Down Under meant Gautam was under immense pressure going to England. The retirement of senior players led him to mentoring a young team and many had written them off at the start of the series. In fact, contrary to expectations the team showed serious fight. They could have won Leeds and Lord’s and eventually closed out the series at 2-2.

May I say that the India coaching job is all about man management. It is about protecting the players at times of adversity and Gautam has ticked that box. This was best evident in the match against Pakistan last Sunday.

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Pakistan had got off to a good start and at the end of the first 10 overs were scoring at 9 an over. Add to it the antics on the field and you know the Indians were under pressure. The instant urge is to respond and that’s when things get out of control. At the drinks break Gautam rushed on to the field and made it a point to pat Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma, the two men who had dropped relatively simply catches early on the game. Thereafter he spoke to everyone in the team huddle and post the drinks break India were a transformed side. Even when Harris Rauf was busy abusing Abhishek and Shubman, Gautam sent in Rinku Singh and Harshit Rana to calm frayed tempers and made sure that the Indians focussed on the job at hand. It was truly you talk we win and in all honesty that’s all India needed to do.

Backing players against all odds sums up his cricketing philosophy. Take the call good or bad. Own your decisions and be clear about it. Things could be right or they could be wrong. But Gautam will never be in doubt. It is this decisiveness that made him a good mentor to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Also, as Gill said, it was Gautam who pushed the red-ball skipper to bat at 4 and the success of the decision is more than evident.

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Just about a month earlier, each one of us said that as far as the national team is concerned, the one thing that Indian sides have lacked in crunch moments is decisiveness. We have been timid and that’s what cost us key matches. But now things are different. Abhishek Sharma’s fearlessness for example was a decisive call and the one thing about this campaign is India’s ability to come back from situations of adversity. The Pakistan match was yet one more example.

The truth is he has left a reasonably successful political career for cricket and a very successful IPL coaching career for the India job. With a young family the call could not have been easy. But then when has sport ever been easy? It is always a quest. A quest for excellence. To break barriers and create something new. A template that can serve Indian cricket well going forward.

For now, it is all about the Asia Cup. A possible third match against Pakistan in two weeks. It could define Gautam Gambhir as India’s white-ball coach and help give the team the aura it deserves. The stakes are high and that’s what makes this week a cracker for Indian cricket.