Gautam Gambhir to bring this rejected player back into the team, reveals his childhood coach

Gautam Gambhir's childhood coach Sanjay Bhardwaj feels that Gambhir can bring back fast bowler Navdeep Saini into India's set-up. Gambhir was appointed India's new head coach after Rahul Dravid's tenure ended after the T20 World Cup 2024.

The former India opener's first assignment as India's head coach will be the tour of Sri Lanka where India will play three T20Is and three ODIs against the host nation. Known for his straightforward approach, the new era under Gambhir can see India making some tough decisions.

It is expected that separate teams will be announced for both formats of the Sri Lanka tour. With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja having retired from the T2oI format, it remains to be seen how Gambhir manages the absence of these stalwarts.

Watch: Ryan Rickelton’s ferocious shot leaves Carmi le Roux bleeding from a head injury

Sanjay Bhardwaj feels Gautam Gambhir can bring Navdeep Saini back into India's squad

While speaking to the news agency PTI, Sanjay Bhardwaj felt that left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and fast bowler Navdeep Saini are Gambhir's products and could come into the reckoning now. Bhardwaj lauded Gambhir's observational skills and tactical understanding.

"He could pick players like Kuldeep Yadav and Navdeep Saini (in the India team setup). They are his product. He also followed his instincts on West Indian all-rounder Sunil Narine (during IPL 2024). His observation and cricketing acumen were always outstanding," Bharadwaj said.

While Kuldeep is already in India's first-choice squad, Navdeep Saini seems to have lost the way. At one time, Saini was touted to be India's future fast bowler but a loss in form and fitness concerns hampered his chances of making it to the Indian team.

On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav played a key role in India's T20 World Cup 2024 win recently. The left-arm wrist-spinner played five matches in the tournament, picking up 10 wickets at an average of 13.90 and an economy rate of 6.95.

Navdeep Saini has played domestic cricket with Gautam Gambhir for Delhi while Kuldeep Yadav was in the KKR squad when Gambhir was the captain of the side.

He helped India win two World Cups - Sanjay Bhardwaj on Gautam Gambhir

Sanjay Bhardwaj also hailed Gautam Gambhir's valuable contributions to Indian cricket. He stated that Gambhir has a habit of taking up challenges and coming out successfully.

"With his batting, he won two World Cups for India in 2007 and 2011. As a player, you helped India win two World Cups, then propelled KKR to three IPL titles. You have a habit of taking up challenges and conquering them; be honest in your approach and repay the country's faith in you," Gambhir's childhood coach added.

With Rohit Sharma having retired from T20Is, Gautam Gambhir and India's team management have a tough decision to choose India's new T20I captain. Hardik Pandya was India's vice-captain during the T20 World Cup 2024 and he should be the captain going by the logic.

But the recent reports suggest that the team management is looking at Suryakumar Yadav as India's next captain because of Hardik's history of constant injury concerns and his workload management. Gambhir and the team management will have a big decision to make when they select the side captain.