Gautam Gambhir's coaching credentials questioned by Sri Lanka veteran; Rahul Dravid namedropped

Former Sri Lanka allrounder Russel Arnold believes that India will be more fierce and competitive in the era of Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir was recently appointed India's new head coach after Rahul Dravid expressed his desire not to continue in the role.

Gambhir's first assignment as India's head coach will be the upcoming three-match T20I series and the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka against the home team. With senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja having retired from the format, Gambhir will have the responsibility of preparing a new Indian team for the next T20 World Cup to be played in 2026.

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Russel Arnold speaks on Gautam Gambhir's coaching style

Renowned commentator, Russel Arnold believes that India will be more fierce and competitive under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir. During a conversation with Sports Tak arranged by Sony Sports Network (the official broadcaster for the Sri Lanka-India series), Russel warned that coaching and playing are quite different as things are not in hand in coaching.

“I think they'll be fierce. I think they'll be competitive. And Gautam Gambhir, we've seen him in the franchises. He was a very good player and competed well when he played. But it's sometimes very difficult to translate that into coaching because you can't do it. It's kind of out of your control. You're managing players and trying to get things done," Russel Arnold said.

The former Sri Lankan player mentioned that Gambhir has been successful in the coaching staff previously and it will help Team India as well. He also added that Gambhir's style might be different from Dravid but sometimes a change is needed and it will keep players on their toes.

"But he's shown that he can do that with any franchise that he's been involved with, the results have been good. They've been playing some tremendous cricket and going on to win trophies. So he's the winner. That will reflect in how these players play," Arnold stated.

"Change is good" - Russel Arnold

"Yes, it will be slightly different from how Rahul Dravid managed it, but in the inner system, it's good. Change is good. And that'll keep players on their toes and also remind them that they have to keep up, skidding and getting better all the time if they want to be a part of it,” he added.

While Gautam Gambhir is the head coach, Abhishek Nayar, and Ryan ten Doeschate have been added as assistant coaches. While Nayar traveled with the team from Mumbai, Ryan ten Doeschate linked up with the team directly in Sri Lanka.

The role of bowling coach was taken by Sairaj Bahutule on an interim basis for the tour of Sri Lanka. India's coaching staff is yet not finalized and it will be announced after the upcoming series in Sri Lanka. India's tour of Sri Lanka will begin on July 27 and it will undergo till August 7 when the last ODI of the three-match ODI series will be played.