England head coach Brendon McCullum has lavished praise on his Indian counterpart Gautam Gambhir’s leadership skills ahead of the India vs England T20I series. The five-match series will be played from January 22 to February 2 across Kolkata, Chennai, Rajkot, Pune and Mumbai. Both teams will then clash in the three-match ODI series in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad.
Indian head coach Gambhir has come under fire from fans and the cricket fraternity for the side’s disastrous performances in the Test format. After securing a 2-0 whitewash against Bangladesh, the Indian team was cleanswept 3-0 on home soil by New Zealand and suffered a 1-3 loss against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Gautam Gambhir’s future certainly hinges on the team’s performances in the white-ball series against England and the Champions Trophy.
Having played under Gambhir during their stint with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2012-13, McCullum praised the leadership skills of the Indian head honcho.
“What I will say about Gautam Gambhir is that I’ve worked with him before. He’s an outstanding leader. He’s a really strong leader of men, and in the time that he’s had in any sort of leadership position he’s held previously, he’s been able to excel,” McCullum told reporters in Kolkata on Monday, January 20.
Brendon McCullum its too early to judge Gautam Gambhir’s work and is confident of the latter turning around things with a talented group of Indian players.
“He’s only just sort of got underway with this team, but I have no doubt that he’ll get the best out of the talent that he’s got. And then we’ve (England) got to find a way to be able to counter that with our own style,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir’s manager stays separate after BCCI’s guideline
The latest guideline issued by the BCCI for the players and support staff also saw a particular rule imposed on Gautam Gambhir’s personal manager, Gaurav Arora. As per the guideline, Arora can neither sit in the VIP box nor travel on the team bus as well. Most importantly, he can’t be accommodated in the same hotel as Gambhir.
Ahead of the 1st T20I in Kolkata, both teams are staying in ITC-owned hotels – ITC Sonar (England) and ITC Royal Bengal (India). Interestingly, both hotels are adjacent to each other and people can move between both hotels through a walkway. If the reports are to be believed, Arora is staying in the ITC Sonar, where England is currently staying.
Interestingly, no Indian head coach has ever had a personal manager before, and the BCCI’s top brass has been furious with Gautam Gambhir’s manager receiving special treatment. Moreover, he has been with the Indian head honcho during the meetings with national selectors as well, which put the final nail in the coffin before a directive was issued.