Former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir who took over from Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team in July has shared his motivations for accepting the role.
The 42-year-old admitted that he never considered a coaching position until recently, but the chance to represent India inspired him to take on the responsibility.
“Never thought about it. In fact, never thought about coaching India, even a couple of months back. If you ask me why, I obviously think it’s an absolute honor to be representing your country once again. Coming back into the dressing room where you’ve spent a lot of time, where you’ve done some special things, and had great memories with all of you guys.
Looking forward to the kind of tours we’ve got—the Champions Trophy the T20 World Cup, and the 50-over World Cup. Sometimes you want to challenge yourself and keep pushing forward, and that was one of the reasons why I thought, ‘Yes, I can contribute,’” Gambhir told Virat Kohli in a special interview.
In the course of the discussion, Gambhir highlighted the difficulty of balancing family life with the demands of coaching, saying that its challenging him to stay away from family.
Gambhir also took a moment to commend Kohli’s remarkable innings of 183 runs against Pakistan during the Asia Cup in 2012, labeling it as perhaps the finest ODI performance by an Indian batter.
“I saw you making your debut and playing a really important, very good knock in the Champions Trophy in South Africa on a tricky wicket against West Indies, against a really good attack. Then playing probably the best one-day inning that has been played by an Indian. And I’ve said it before, not just here because you’re sitting in front of me, but I’ve said it not purely from a point of view because guys have got double hundreds as well.” Gambhir added.
Talking about that inning, Gambhir further explained that it’s because of the quality of opposition, the attack, the conditions, and chasing 300 plus against Pakistan that made that inning so special. He concluded by mentioning that Kohli has taken Indian cricket forward and that is probably the legacy he have left for the next generation.
