You got to identify players who can adapt – Gautam Gambhir on his coaching mantra

India’s newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir reckons it is crucial to identify players who can adapt to every situation and format. Gambhir will take over the coaching baton from Rahul Dravid, who recently led India to T20 World Cup glory.

Though Gambhir doesn’t have experience at the top level, he has mentored IPL teams like Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Under him, KL Rahul-led LSG qualified for the two straight playoffs in IPL 2022 and 2023. Furthermore, KKR won their IPL title in 2024 under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer after Gambhir was appointed as a mentor.

Gambhir is known for his aggressive tactics and he is expected to go all out as India’s head coach.

Gautam Gambhir said in an interaction with Star Sports last year, “First you need to identify players, who have got their fearless approach as well, probably in a format like 50 overs. You need to have a mixture of players. You need players who can anchor as well. Change in rule has made a huge difference. During that time you had one new ball. Now you have five new balls with five players inside. So, the role of a part-timer has gone out of the window. You don’t see enough reverse swing. You don’t see enough purchase for the finger spinners as well.”

“But I always feel, when you talk about this new approach, you got to identify players who can adapt to those roles, or to that template very easily. Some people just cannot adapt to a template so why push them to play a certain way which doesn’t come naturally to them. So, for me identifying players and at the same time getting the right mix is very, very important rather than thinking that we have to play in a certain template, so we have to select all the 15 with a similar mindset or a similar template.”

The upcoming Sri Lanka tour where India will play three ODIs and as many T20Is will be Gambhir’s maiden assignment as the head coach.