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With India gearing up to take on Australia in the highly-anticipated five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under, Team India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has been in the limelight after he hit back at former Australia captain Ricky Ponting for his comments on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s form. Although, the star senior batters' form has been a concern, but former Australia cricketer and wicketkeeper-batter Tim Paine feels that Gautam Gambhir’s inclusion in the Indian setup isn’t the correct move.
The former Aussie captain believes that Gambhir, who took over the reigns as India Head Coach after Rahul Dravid’s tenure concluded with India’s win at the T20 World Cup 2024, is under a lot of pressure. This statement comes after Gambhir did not have an ideal start as India faced a series defeat against Sri Lanka followed by their first-ever Test series defeat at home in Test cricket that came last month against New Zealand.
Gambhir is not great fit for the Indian cricket team: Tim Paine
Speaking with SEN Tassie ahead of the bilateral series in Australia, Tim Paine defended Ricky Ponting’s stance after Gambhir lashed out at the Aussie for his response expressing concern on the form of senior batters like Kohli and Rohit Sharma. “I don’t love it (Gambhir’s response). It’s not a good sign, I think, because all he was asked was a very simple question,” the former Australia captain told SEN Tassie. “I think he’s maybe looking at Ricky still as someone he’s playing against, but Ricky is a commentator now - he’s paid to give an opinion and his opinion was spot on. Virat has been sliding, it is a concern, absolutely. But for me now, the biggest concern for India right now isn’t Rohit Sharma’s batting, isn’t Virat Kohli’s batting, it’s their coach and his ability to stay calm under pressure,” Paine further opined.
The former Australian cricketer also compared the coaching style of Gambhir to that of Ravi Shastri, under whose coaching India last travelled to Australia and lifted the BGT. “Ravi Shastri created a great environment, the players were energised, they played with passion, he sold them the dream and motivated them in a really light-hearted enjoyable way. They have gone to a new coach now who is really prickly, really competitive - and that is not to say that’s not a good thing and a good way to coach - but my concern is that it’s not great fit for the Indian cricket team,” Paine concluded.
It is to be seen how things pan out as India takes on Australia in the five-match Test series, starting November 22. The first Test is scheduled to commence from November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth with both teams kick starting their preparations down under.
