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Ahead of India's five-match T20I series against Australia, head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on how his main aim is to build a totally fearless team that can perfform in big matches. He also lavished praise on T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav's leadership skills, pointing out that he provides the players with freedom. He further credited Suryakumar for maintaining a good atmosphere within the team for more than a year now.
“Surya is a great human being, and good humans make good leaders. While he speaks highly of me, my role is simply to advise him fairly based on my reading of the game. Ultimately, this is his team. His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket’s essence, it’s about freedom and expression. Your off-field personality reflects on the field and in the dressing room, and Surya has maintained this atmosphere brilliantly over the past 1.5 years,” Gambhir said in an interview with JioHotstar.
Gambhir further remarked that he does not want to focus too much on winning and wants the team to be completely fearless and not be afraid to make mistakes on the field.
“From our first conversation, we agreed: we will not fear losing. I don’t aim to be the most successful coach; I want us to be the most fearless team. In big games like the Asia Cup final, I told the players it’s okay to drop a catch, play a bad shot, or bowl a poor delivery. Human beings make mistakes. Only the opinions of those in the dressing room matter. Surya and I consistently agree: we will never fear mistakes. The bigger the game, the more fearless and aggressive we must be. A conservative approach only gives the opposition an advantage. With the talent we have, if we play fearlessly, we will be fine,” Gambhir added.
India's performance under Gambhir
Team India's results under Gambhir have been a mixed bag so far. Though the team has won both the ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup under his guidance, he has also underseen humiliating Test series defeats to New Zealand and Australia. While the team has at times looked to be unstoppable, they have also given highly disappointing performances on multiple occasions.
India begin Australia tour on a low
India weren't able to start their white-ball tour of Australia on a positive note either as they recorded a 2-1 series defeat to Australia and will be hoping to get a better result in the upcoming T20I series.The series will commence from October 29 with the first match set to take place at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
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