"Indian players can feel lonely"- Dinesh Karthik on Gautam Gambhir becoming India Head Coach

Former India batsman Dinesh Karthik has shared his views on Gautam Gambhir's appointment as the head coach of Team India. The former India opener recently replaced Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the team.

Dravid's impressive tenure came to an end last month following India's victorious campaign in the T20 World Cup. During Dravid's stint. India enjoyed success across formats. In 2023, the Men in Blue wo the Asia Cup and reached the final of the ODI World Cup and the Test World Championship. And last month, they won the T20 World Cup to end India's 11-year wait for an ICC trophy.

Following Dravid's impressive tenure, Gambhir will have his task cut out as the head coach of the team. The India great will be serving as the head coach of any team for the first time and will be hoping to live up to the expectations.

And while only time will tell how things unfold in the coming days, Dinesh Karthik is confident of a good display from his former India teammate. Recalling his time at Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) when Gambhir was leading the team, the former wicketkeeper-batsman said that the newly-appointed India is tactically very astute.

"First of all, when I played for Delhi Daredevils in the early years, it started with Sehwag being the captain, but year three it was Gautam Gambhir. He was a very good captain, tactically very astute and I was the vice-captain under him," said Dinesh Karthik on Cricbuzz.

He's a very good leader: Dinesh Karthik

Speaking further, Dinesh Karthik spoke on what Gautam Gambhir would bring to the Indian dressing room. Karthik hailed Gambhir as a players' man and said that it would help the players of the team. He also said that Gambhir would bring a 'clever tactical angle' to the Indian side.

"He's a very good leader. I think he will bring two things to the Indian team. One, the fact that he's a complete players' man," said Karthik.

"He protects his players and that's very important in international cricket because at times you can feel lonely or deserted in international cricket when performances don't go your way.

So, Gambhir is going to do that, and number two, he'll definitely bring a clever tactical angle to this Indian team. Very fierce, intense guy and I always like playing for the team and did whatever it took to win a game of cricket," added Karthik.

Meanwhile, Gambhir's tenure as India coach will get underway later this month with the tour of Sri Lanka. India are scheduled to play 3 T20Is and as many ODIs against the Islanders.