Anil Kumble is a great man manager, says Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is in Kolkata for the Delhi’s Ranji Trophy match after making a comeback to the national team since 2014. The left-hander feels that the England series is going to be a lot tougher than the New Zealand one and lauds Anil Kumble’s managerial skills both as a skipper and as a coach. India is currently playing a One-Day International series with New Zealand, which will be followed by a 5-match Test against England from November.
Speaking about the experience after he entered the dressing room after 2 years, he said, “A winning team and a winning dressing room is always a happy place to be in. People are a lot comfortable. There is far less pressure on you as against going into a dressing room which is struggling.
“I have played a lot of cricket with these guys and when you walk into a dressing room that is happy, it immediately makes you feel comfortable and you can go out there and express yourself in a far better way,” he added as per the reports of the Hindustan Times.
Having scored a half-century in his comeback game in Indore, the Delhi-born is a front runner for being picked up again for the Indian XI against England next month. KL Rahul’s injury after the Kanpur Test forced the national selectors to squeeze Gambhir in for the penultimate match.
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Gambhir shared the dressing room with Anil Kumble as a player earlier in his career and now sees the legendary spinner as the coach of the side. The former praised Kumble’s contribution to the team and feels “Indian Cricket is in very safe hands.”
He said, “Anil Bhai is someone who I respect thoroughly because he was a players’ captain, a bowlers’ captain. He was a great man manager and I wish he gets even more success as a coach than he got as a player. Whatever little I have seen of him as coach in the two Tests, I can assure you Indian cricket is in very safe hands.”
The last time England played a Test series in India was back in 2012/13, and the visitors playing played exceptional cricket to win the series 2-1. India however, will be looking for redemption this time round; going into the series as the No. 1 ranked Test team in the world.
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