Gautam Gambhir: Patriot First

GAUTAM GAMBHIR’S announcement of his appointment as the head coach of Indian team on the social media site X was wholly on brand. For the main image, there was a large Tricolour captured mid-flutter, captioned with these words: “India is my identity and serving my country has been the greatest privilege of my life. I’m honoured to be back, albeit wearing a different hat. But my goal is the same as it has always been, to make every Indian proud…” The second part of the 42-year-old former India opener’s note, too, was punctuated not with a full stop, but a smaller emoji of the Indian flag.

No other Indian cricketer, former or present, has made their love for the country such an integral part of their overall identity as Gambhir, so the messaging was bang on point. It also gives the Indian cricket fan a great sense of what the former MP’s reign over the next three-and-a-half years, until the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, is going to look like—emotional, full of instinctive calls, and loaded with a high dose of patriotism. But his biggest challenge over the next few years as coach will be to seamlessly integrate his philosophies with an Indian team that is not only well-oiled, but also set in its winning ways. A team that currently isn’t in a mess or one that needs any kind of saving, situations Gambhir tends to excel in.

As a player, Gambhir was the country’s finest all-format crisis man. In the final of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan in 2007, the left-hander anchored India’s innings, and eventual win, with a top-score of 75 (the next best was young Rohit Sharma’s 30). Then, in the ODI World Cup final of 2011 at home, ice flowed through his veins as he helped the side tide over the early losses of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the chase, once again top-scoring with 97 as MS Dhoni raised his second world title in different white-ball formats in four years.

Gambhir was a fire-stopper in red-ball cricket too; back in Napier in 2009, he batted for 11 hours to eke out a match-drawing hundred after India were made to follow on by the hosts. That draw ensured that India won their only Test series in New Zealand in 10 attempts since 1968. Incidentally, the Napier hundred was the first of five centuries in consecutive Test matches, just one short of Sir Don Bradman’s all-time record of three-figure scores in six consecutive Tests. Anyway, in his role as leader in the IPL, he ended Kolkata Knight Riders’ title-drought with trophies in 2012 and 2014; then, when he was brought back as a mentor earlier this year, a struggling KKR immediately reversed their fortunes and won their third IPL after a gap of 10 years.

The Indian team that Gambhir inherits, from coach Rahul Dravid, just won the 2024 T20 World Cup. In this 20-over format, the transition is already underway with the retirements of the country’s ageing greats, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, ensuring that the new coach has no real difficult calls to take. Dravid and captain Rohit’s tag-team has also all but put the country in the final of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, which will be India’s third in as many title-matches in the format. But because India lost the previous two, Gambhir’s first real test will be in seeing his side over the line in the summit Test of 2025, were they to find themselves there.

But even though it may seem far away for now, Gambhir will know that he has been handpicked to win India the greatest prize in the sport, the ODI World Cup, that will next play out only at the end of his tenure. After having lost heartbreakingly in the final in Ahmedabad last year, India’s quest for a 50-over world title will have stretched to 16 years by 2027. By then, Rohit will be 40 and Kohli on the verge of it. Will they still be around to end the wait? On such matters, Gambhir will have the final say. For he knows what it takes, given that were it not for his acumen on that balmy night in 2011, India’s wait for a 50-over World Cup would’ve stretched all the way back to 1983.

all-format crisis manGautam GambhirIndian cricketnew coachODI World CupT20 World Cup