Gautam Gambhir Shares His Coaching Philosophy Amid Speculations Of Becoming India's Coach

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir addressed speculation about his potential appointment as the next head coach of the Indian cricket team during an event hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce on Friday. Gambhir, who recently participated in a virtual interview with the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee, refrained from confirming any future coaching roles.

Gambhir, who played a pivotal role in Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) third IPL title win as team mentor, emphasised his current contentment. "I don't see that far ahead. You are grilling me, asking me all tough questions," he remarked. "It is difficult to answer right now. All I can say is that I'm happy being here, just finished a brilliant journey (and) let's enjoy that. I'm in a very happy space right now," Gambhir stated at the 'Rise To Leadership' seminar.

The former opener elaborated on his coaching philosophy, which prioritises the team over individual players. "If you have the intent of keeping your team ahead of any individual, things will fall in place. If not today, tomorrow, if not tomorrow, someday it will fall in place," he said. He stressed that focusing on individual performances could be detrimental to the team's success.

"My job is not to make individuals perform. My job, as a mentor, is to make KKR win," Gambhir asserted. He highlighted that his guiding principle is a team-first ideology, which he believes is crucial in any team sport.

Gambhir also shared insights into the leadership dynamics within the KKR camp during their successful campaign this year. "Yes I was the leader but all of us in the dressing room made the change. It was about making Kolkata proud. It was moral responsibility for me to give something back to Kolkata," he said.

He underscored the importance of treating all team members equally. "In a team sport, it's the team that matters the most. Individuals do play a role, individuals do contribute," he noted. "But I think if 11 people are treated equally, if 11 people have equal respect, if everyone is treated equally, given the same respect, same responsibility, same honour, you will achieve an unbelievable amount of success."

Gambhir clarified that he harbours no disappointment over not having captained India for an extended period. "I have always thought about performing for the fans, and that has been my thought since the last year of my training career. In the middle, I got this honour of captaining India for six games. I tried doing it to the best of my ability," he said.

Reflecting on his career, Gambhir mentioned one regret related to the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium. "It was my job to finish the game, rather than leaving someone to finish the game. If I had to turn back the clock, I would go back there and score the last run, irrespective of how many runs I scored," said Gambhir, who scored 97 runs in that match.