Gautam Gambhir won't be lenient: Jonty Rhodes warns Virat Kohli and other India players

Legendary South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes has the experience of working alongside Gautam Gambhir when both of them were involved in the coaching staff of Lucknow Super Giants for IPL 2022 and IPL 2023.

While Gambhir served as the mentor of LSG in its first two years of the Indian Premier League, Jonty Rhodes served as the team's fielding coach. While Gambhir left the franchise after IPL 2023 to join Kolkata Knight Riders, Jonty Rhodes is still serving his role at the franchise.

Gambhir was further appointed India's head coach after his stint with KKR. Recently, Jonty Rhodes spoke about Gautam Gambhir's coaching methods. He claimed that the former India opener is passionate and always wants his team to win.

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Jonty Rhodes speaks on working alongside Gautam Gambhir at LSG

Jonty Rhodes spoke on the sidelines of the launch of Pro Cricket League in Delhi, where he is the brand ambassador of the tournament.

Rhodes mentioned about Gambhir's passion and claimed that he is not going to be lenient with anybody as he is always looking for excellence from his players.

"It is fascinating because, you know, I only had the one season with GG at LSG where he was the mentor and and KL had a very bad thigh strain halfway through the tournament. So, GG certainly was a lot more from a mentor point of view. Got a lot more in involved with decision-making, what was going on," Rhodes said at the event.

"And I know how passionate he is. You know, he looks for excellence on and off the field, but he doesn't expect players to do something that he never did or he won't do. So. I think from that point of view, he's somebody who's not gonna be lenient with anybody unless it's required because he's expecting. He just wants excellence. I mean, he wants the team to win, and it's not for his record or for what he can achieve," Rhodes added.

Jonty Rhodes not concerned by India's ODI series loss to Sri Lanka

India have played a T20I series and an ODI series against Sri Lanka so far in Gautam Gambhir's tenure as India's head coach. India won the T20I series 3-0 while they lost the ODI series 0-2 to the home team.

The loss to a lower-ranked Sri Lanka was an alarming sign but Rhodes reckons that it isn't a big issue. He claimed that the Indian team will quickly adjust to the new management under Gautam Gambhir and they have the talent to hit the ground running.

"Every team that he's involved in, he's wanted to win desperately, and you see the way that he bats, the way that he captains. He's so passionate, so involved in the game. I think any time there's a change, whether it be the leadership from a captaincy point of view or from a coach and management, it's going to take an adjustment," Rhodes reckoned.

"So you know, once they find their feet, we know India has the strength and the talent pool and the depth of talent to certainly allow him to hit the ground and pick up speed very quickly in his coaching career," the legendary South African added.

Gautam Gambhir's next assignment

Gautam Gambhir's next assignment will be India's two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home. The series will begin on September 19 in Chennai. India will also play a T20I series against Bangladesh after the Test series.

However, Gambhir's litmus test will be the Border-Gavskar Trophy which will be played later this year. India will play five Tests against hosts Australia and will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of Test series victories in Australia.