'Don't think Gautam Gambhir's job is to coach' - Ex-India selector reveals main reason behind BCCI hiring India legend

Gautam Gambhir's stint as Team India head coach will begin on Saturday (July 27) when the Men in Blue lock horns against Sri Lanka in the first game of the three-match T20I series in Pallekele.

Earlier this month, the former India opener replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the team. The India job is Gautam Gambhir's first as a head coach. He has no prior experience of serving as a head coach at any level. However, he has made a big impact as a mentor in the Indian Premier League while plying his trade for Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders.

He was in the LSG dugout during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In both seasons, the Lucknow-based outfit qualified for the playoffs. Incidentally, they failed to advance ahead of the league stage this year when Gambhir was serving as the mentor of KKR. In his first season as the KKR mentor, Gambhir guided the Kolkata-based outfit to its third IPL title and first since 2014.

Gambhir will be hoping for a similar successful stint with Team India. And as he gears up for his first-ever game as the coach, former India cricketer and selector Sandeep Patil has said the newly-appointed head coach's main job is not to coach the Indian team. Patil said that Gambhir will have to focus more on man-management than coaching the players.

"I don't think his job is to coach the Indian team. His job is to help the Indian team," Patil told PTI.

"That's how it works at the top level. You need player management. That will be the challenge for Gambhir. He has done it and I am sure he will continue to do the same with the Indian cricket team. Gambhir had done an exceptional job as a coach for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. I hope that he continues to help the Indian team in the same way," he
added.

No Indian team without Rohit and Kohli: Sandeep Patil

Sandeep Patil further said that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli still remain an integral member of the Indian team. The senior batters retired from T20Is last month but will continue to play ODI and Test cricket. Patil said that there is no question of an Indian team without Kohli and Rohit even now. He concluded by saying that Suryakumar Yadav deserved the T20I captaincy.

"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still doing extremely well and there is no question of an Indian team without them. I wish the Indian team all the best wherever they are playing and whatever tournament they are playing, they are bound to do exceedingly well," he said.

"Surya comes from Mumbai and is a very dear friend of mine. He has been given the captaincy and he deserved it. I wish him all the best," he said about India's newest T20I captain.