When Gautam Gambhir came aboard the Indian team as its head coach, expectations were sky high. India had just won the 2024 T20 World Cup, and Kolkata Knight Riders clinched a third IPL title – first after 10 years – under Gambhir’s mentorship. Clearly, the transition was expected to be smooth, with Rahul Dravid stepping down after 2.5 years in charge. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Gambhir entered the Indian dressing room with rousing cheers, but even before you knew it, those got replaced with silence as India slumped from one low to another.
Immediately upon his arrival, India lost a bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka, for the first time after 28 years. And from there began the spiral. India’s hammering in Australia, where they lost the series 1-3 and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after seven years, led to catastrophic implications, and who can forget India’s first Test defeat on home soil in 12 years? The start of Gambhr’s tenure was filled with rough roads.
18 months in, and Gambhir has had more misses than hits, winning the Champions Trophy, last year’s Asia Cup and drawing the Test series in England being his only positive takeaways. Besides, his fallout with star cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has landed him immense flak on social media. Hence, the T20 World Cup – and the game against Namibia in particular – comes at the right time. Gambhir got home to his family and even hosted the T20I team for dinner. Being on the road the whole time and not getting the desired results can lead to loneliness, which is why Gambhir couldn’t be glad to be back in Delhi – albeit briefly.
‘A lot of lonely nights’
“Home is love, home is where your family is, and obviously, home is where you get peace as well. For me, home has always been really special. Obviously, it’s tough because you go through a lot of lonely nights as well, you go through a lot of nights where things don’t go your way. It is sometimes a very challenging profession as well, so when you have got your trusted support staff, they become as close as your family, because you can share a lot of emotions with them, Gambhir said in a video released by the BCCI.
Which is why the head coach stressed having a family away from family. India are favourites to win the T20 World Cup, and the dressing room atmosphere only solidifies this belief. The Indian team is engulfed in laughter, fun, joy, giggles, enjoyment and whatnot, with Gambhir highlighting the need to keep the mood light.
“In fact, when you are in this profession, you share a lot more emotion with them as compared to what you share with your family. They know the ups and downs of this profession, they know how it feels when things don’t go your way,” added Gambhir.
“There have to be moments where the guys can be themselves, there has to be funny moments somewhere in the practice sessions or in the dressing room. Everyone has a funny side, so we make sure that we try to get the fun side out of everyone, and that is something that will keep the atmosphere light as well.”
