“He’s the right age where he’s young, he’ll come with fresh ideas” – Ravi Shastri backs Gautam Gambhir to flourish as Team India head coach

India’s former head coach Ravi Shastri has backed Gautam Gambhir to flourish as Team India’s chief coach. Shastri feels Gambhir, 42, will bring in fresh ideas for the Indian team. Gambhir recently mentored Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024 and played a key role in taking the franchise to glory.

Gambhir is known for his aggressive approach and he will be determined to prove his mettle as the team’s head coach. The former Indian opener recently admitted he is taking over a very successful team and the expectations will be huge.

Earlier, Gambhir was also part of Lucknow Super Giants’ support staff and the team was able to qualify for the playoffs in two consecutive editions.

“He’s contemporary, he just had a great season in the IPL. I think he’s the right age where he’s young, he’ll come with fresh ideas. He knows most of the players, especially in the white-ball format, having been part of teams in the IPL. So I think it’s refreshing. And we know with Gautam, he’s a no-nonsense guy. He’ll have his ideas as well. And the good thing for him is he’s got a mature team. He’s got a settled team, a mature team,” Shastri said on ICC Review.

“I think even though you might think you’re mature, you might benefit from some fresh ideas. So I think it’ll be interesting times. Obviously, player management becomes the key as a coach. So it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. I think he’s got the tools, he’s got the goods for the job and he’s got the experience.”

The renowned commentator added that it will be a question of understanding the players as soon as possible for Gautam Gambhir, in order to get the best out of them.

“It’s a question of just understanding his players as quickly as possible. What their strengths are, what kind of human beings they are and what kind of temperaments do they have? What are their personalities? A lot goes behind the scenes to understand a human being. I think that will be his most important task, which I think again should not be a problem because he’s contemporary,” Shastri said in the same interview.

The Sri Lanka tour is Gambhir’s maiden assignment and he would look to deliver the goods.