3 lessons Gautam Gambhir can take from Rahul Dravid as India men's head coach
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday, July 9, confirmed Gautam Gambhir's appointment as the new head coach of the senior Indian men's team. The former India opener takes over from Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended after the 2024 T20 World Cup, which the Men in Blue won.
Gambhir (42) played 242 matches for India across the three formats of the game, scoring 10324 runs, with 20 hundreds and 63 fifties. The former left-handed batter top-scored for the Men in Blue in the 2007 T20 World Cup final as well as the 2011 ODI World Cup final, with India winning both the summit clashes.
While confirming Gambhir as Team India's new coach, BCCI secretary Jay Shah posted on X:
"It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Mr @GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team. Modern-day cricket has evolved rapidly, and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close. Having endured the grind and excelled in various roles throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person to steer Indian Cricket forward."
With Gambhir as mentor, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won IPL 2024. However, coaching the Indian team will be a totally different cup of tea. As the former India opener steps into the high-pressure role, here are three lessons he can take from the manner in which Dravid managed the team during his tenure.
#1 Give players the space and freedom to flourish
One of the standout aspects of Dravid's tenure as head coach was that players rarely felt threatened of their place in the team. The cricketers were given a lot of freedom and allowed to fail before they were shown the door in case there were no improvements. This is something that empowered the players to go out and play selfless cricket, without the fear of having to think about their place in the side.
Most of the Indian cricketers who played under the Dravid era have vouched for the same. And thus it's not surprising to see the kind of results that the Indian team produced under his guidance. For the record, Team India may have won only one ICC event with Dravid as coach. But they made the final of 2023 ODI World Cup and were runners-up in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) as well.
#2 Build a great equation with the captain
Indian captain Rohit Sharma paid a heartwarming tribute to Dravid through a post on his official Instagram handle on Tuesday, July 9. He wrote:
"You are an absolute stalwart of this game but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you."
These few lines perfectly encapsulate what a great working relationship Dravid was able to build with Rohit. In the post, the latter even cheekily mentioned that his wife refers to Dravid as his 'work wife'.
The wonderful equation between Rohit and the Indian legend was pretty visible from a distance as well. Unless the coach and the captain are on the same page, things are likely to go awry.
#3 Be at the forefront when things go wrong
This is one of the wonderful leadership qualities that Dravid brought in as coach. When India won, he was happy to take the backseat. But when the boys floundered, he ensured that they were kept away from the limelight, at least in the immediate aftermath.
The 2023 ODI World Cup final is a perfect case in point. Having been unbeaten right through the tournament, Team India were stunned by an inspired Australian outfit in the final in front of a jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Indian players were in tears after the huge loss.
Dravid, himself, was hugely disappointed, but he put up a brave front at the post-match press conference, keeping his emotions in check. Few others could have handled such a tricky situation with the kind of composure that the soft-spoken cricketing genius did. And so, clichéd as it may sound, Gambhir has big boots to fill as he steps into the role of head coach of Indian men's cricket team.