Gambhir guided the Indian team to a commendable 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
India’s World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten was effusive in praise of current head coach Gautam Gambhir after the latter guided the team to a commendable 2-2 draw on the grueling Test tour of England recently.
When the Shubman Gill-led side landed in England, no one gave the tourists a chance following the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin from the longest format.
However, the team in transition proved everyone wrong as they gave the hosts a run of their money in all five Test matches.
Reflecting on the outcome, achieved through a thrilling victory in the series-decider at the Oval, Kirsten expressed his admiration for Gambhir.
"I'm really happy for the Indian cricket team for levelling the series and it's great for Indian cricket. I'm really pleased for Gautam Gambhir as well, I know him well. Really delighted and pleased for what he's achieved with the team," Kirsten told reporters, as quoted by PTI.
"They're (India) doing really well at the moment. We all get excited by the success of the Indian team, I certainly do. They've got a great bunch of young players coming through now and it's really exciting to be supporting them," he added.
India clinched the 2011 World Cup at home when Kirsten was at the helm of affairs, and also achieved No. 1 position in the Test format during his tenure as chief coach.
Recalling his stint as India coach, Kirsten said one of the highlights was getting Ishant Sharma to practice batting at nets and eventually help VVS Laxman to save a Test against Australia in Mohali in 2010.
"One highlight in my three years with the Indian team was getting Ishant Sharma to come down to the nets with his batting pads and then to get him to face 48 balls in the Test match against Australia with VVS Laxman to win the game. That was a highlight for me to work on his batting.
"I really enjoyed that from a leadership perspective because he didn't think he could bat. And he still can't bat that well, but we kind of helped him get through that Test match and do really well," Kirsten remarked.
Set a target of 216, India were left reeling at 124/8 but Laxman (73 not out), first with Ishant (31), and then alongside No.11 Pragyan Ojha, propelled the team over the finishing line.