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Former India coach Lalchand Rajput believes that Gautam Gambhir is the right candidate to take Indian cricket forward as he is a shrewd strategist and a two-time World Cup winner. There is no confirmation whether Gambhir has officially applied for the head coach position of the Indian team but it is being speculated that he may replace Rahul Dravid after the T20 World Cup. The last date to apply for the post of India head coach is May 27.
‘Dedicated to Serious Work’
The Indian team won the T20 in 2007 under the coach of Rajput. World Cup had won He told PTI on Tuesday, “Gambir is completely devoted to his work. He has played hard cricket and understands the game well. This has also been seen for KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) Referring to KKR’s success in the IPL, Rajput said, “KKR was the same team last year. You can feel the change in the team this year. Gambhir is also a shrewd strategist.
‘He is a good candidate but…’
Director of Cricket for Jabalpur Lions in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh T20 League (MPT20) Rajput said Gambhir’s experience as a two-time World Cup-winning Indian player will also come in handy for the team. He said, “Gambir has won two World Cups as a player. He is a good candidate, but it all depends on BCCI who they want. I think Gambhir will be the right candidate to take Indian cricket forward.” Comparing the 2007 World T20-winning Indian team and the current US team, the former India opener said it is beneficial to have experienced players in the team.
‘Can’t go with a brand new team’
“You must have some experience, too,” he said. We can’t go with a completely new team because there is pressure in the World Cup.” Rajput said, “You have to have some senior players and juniors with them because they complement each other. If you look at our 2007 team, there were experienced players like (Virender) Sehwag, Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan (Singh), RP Singh and Yuvraj. He was accompanied by young players like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik. It was a good mix.” Rajput said it would be difficult to pick a playing XI for India, but he favored Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper-batsman and Virat Kohli as opening batsman.