Former England spinner Monty Panesar made a massive remark and claimed that India's head coach Gautam Gambhir is not taken seriously by the team. India's recent subpar Test cricket results have drawn attention to Gambhir's teaching methods. The team captained by Rohit Sharma recently lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy series to Australia 1-3 after losing 0-3 at home to New Zealand.
Panesar on Gambhir
After analyzing India's dismal results, Panesar concluded that Gambhir was overworked. The former spinner added that Gambhir's dismal Test results in Australia and England may have prevented him from gaining the team's respect.
"I think so. I think that's a good option. I think maybe the workload is too much for Gambhir. He's just transitioned into a coach. Sometimes it can be difficult for some of the senior players who actually will be thinking, 'Well, I was his teammate a few years ago, now he's telling us how to play cricket'. It can be difficult, that transition, and also his record (as a batter) isn't great in Australia or in England," Panesar told Times of India.
In addition, Panesar recommended that Gambhir should be assigned to coach the limited-overs team and that the legendary Indian batter VVS Laxman should be named India's Test coach.
"He (Gambhir) averages 23 in Australia. He doesn't average well in England either. He didn't play the moving ball very well. I think the selectors will be thinking 'is Gambhir taking it seriously as a coach, or should we get him to just focus on ODIs and T20Is, and maybe bring in someone like VVS Laxman, for example (as Test coach)?...Or bring him in as a batting coach to help Gambhir. He's similar to Rahul Dravid. He's been successful in all conditions,” he added.
Panesar added that the players will inevitably heed Laxman's counsel because of his outstanding Test record, while Gambhir, whom he believes the squad does not take seriously, does not get the same treatment.
"I think you need some sort of Indian legend, who has done really well in all conditions, to come in as a coach, because then you naturally command that respect. If Laxman tells 'you are not going to play the ball on the up when it is swinging', you listen, right? But with Gambhir, I'm not sure if they really take him seriously, or they're just saying, 'okay, yeah, we'll listen to him, but we're gonna go and play our natural game'," Panesar concluded.