India head coach Gautam Gambhir is known for his few words and for being serious on the field and rarely smiling. His first series as India coach saw the team defeat Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20Is, while the ODI series has the hosts leading 1-0 with one match to go.

Gambhir is one of the very few cricketers to have won both ODI and T20I World Cups for India, and while he was a regular in India's Playing XI, he witnessed more highs and few lows.

His childhood coach Sanjay Bhardwaj says that Gambhir’s relentless stride towards being the best and injecting a winning mentality that people mistake his 'winning attitude' as arrogance.

Bharadwaj, who received the Guru Dronacharya Award in 2019, a sports coaching distinction in India, recalled Gambhir's early days and claimed that even as a 12-13-year-old, the mere concept of losing was unbearable.

"Gautam Gambhir is a kid. Even today he is like an innocent kid. He has no malice. He is like a 12-year-old kid. People think he is arrogant, but that is his attitude towards winning. I used to make him play matches after nets and he would cry after losing matches. He did not like losing even back then," Bharadwaj told former India Under-19 World Cup winner Manjot Kalra on his YouTube show.

"So, a person with a true personality like him will obviously remain serious. If you get in your comfort zone, if you're smiling all the time, you will win. A person who understands how to win should know how to avoid defeat. People think he has attitude, this and that. No, Gambhir is pure at heart. He is polite; has made the careers of so many youngsters,” he added.

The coach took great delight in having Gambhir as a pupil, whom he claims he still communicates with to this day and adds that Gambhir has gone out of his way to push players he believes have what it takes. Bharadwaj revealed that Gambhir even confronted the DDCA to give Navdeep Saini a chance.

As a coach, Gambhir's tactics have already divided opinion. During the Sri Lanka tour, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma all rolled their arms over, which was not before done.

According to Bharadwaj, Gambhir's practice dates back to his time as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

"Gautam Gambhir will not go after the technical aspects. Because at that level, there is no need for technical improvement. You are there because you are good enough technically. What Gambhir will work on is the tactical aspects. Gambhir's job will be to boost morale and inject confidence into a player who may not to too sure about himself," the coach added.

"Gambhir had told Sunil Narine three months ago that he doesn't want bowling from him and that he should work on his batting. If Gambhir feels a player can win matches, he will back him to the hilt. That's his biggest trait. He has the attitude that a coach needs to have – fearlessness and a habit of winning,” Bhardwaj concluded.

Gambhir will look forward to inspiring the Indian team to win the third ODI and avoid the first ODI series loss to Sri Lanka since 1997.