Dinesh Karthik talked on Gautam Gambhir's tenure as India head coach.
Gautam Gambhir's term as India's head coach has been the subject of heated debate, with uneven results across formats attracting attention to his leadership. While his impact in T20 cricket has been generally lauded, his performance in Tests and ODIs has prompted concerns regarding the difficulties he had early in his career.
India started brightly under Gambhir in Test cricket with a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh, but things rapidly turned sour with a 0-3 defeat to New Zealand and a 1-3 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik talked about Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India's head coach and said that while the initiation was good, things turned sour very soon for him in Test cricket.
"The Bangladesh series was a success, and I think post that, things have gone downhill for him in Tests. You've got to give Gambhir some slack. He has come in at a very tough time after the successful regime of Rahul Dravid. It's never easy to fill those shoes," Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
Gambhir's comments about the futures of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during the Australia series piqued interest.
"He [Gambhir] wants them [Rohit and Kohli] to take a decision as to what they feel is best. When it comes to ODIs, they haven't played too much, but also remember they lost the series against Sri Lanka. So, it hasn't been easy in Tests and a very small sample size for ODIs,” Karthik added.
"He has found immense success in T20 cricket. He has a lot of young boys, and he has been able to have a massive influence over them," Karthik remarked, contrasting this with the struggles in Tests.
Talking about Gambhir's work as India coach, Karthik stated that there needs to be harmony between what the coach envisions and what players' mindset should be.
"The biggest decision for him to make is: Is he very happy with this current set of players? Is he able to influence them over decision-making? Are they aligned with his thought process? If these players are fitting in, then great. If not, then we have to figure out what is the best way moving forward. Test cricket has been hard for Gautam Gambhir as the coach," he added.
He further stated that pressure is increasing on Gambhir, but says coach has limited influence of players during a match.
"The pressure is mounting. All he can do is give them freedom, give them the security they want in the dressing room, and try to keep a very nice and safe even sort of place there. But when the player walks out, he has to find a way to counter his demons and the opposition's questions," he concluded.
Gautam Gambhir’s next assignment for India will be the England white-ball series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.