Here comes Gambhir and the talk

Now that the head coach of the Indian cricket team is announced a plethora of voices has started to find mention in the media about Gautam Gambhir India paceman Avesh Khan was quoted praising Gambhirrsquos coaching methods at Lucknow Super Giants ldquoWhatever I have learned from him Gambhir it is about the mindset that you should always look to get the better of your opponent and give your 100 per centrdquo Avesh told BCCI TV before Indiarsquos fourth T20I against Zimbabwe at HarareEarlier this week former Australia speedster Brett Lee emphasised that India are in good hands with Gambhir in chargeldquoGautam appears to be a sound choice I have seen him grow from his India lsquoArsquo days till the end of his international career and then as mentor to a victorious KKR unit He deserves a chancerdquo Sandeep Patil the former India batsman coach and chief selector told me recentlyPositive talk has always outweighed pessimism over coaches or consultants before play is called on their new assignments in Indian cricket Views from experts provide wholesome fodder for cricket reportersRecent talk surrounding Gambhir takes me back to the time when Bob Simpson was appointed consultant of the Indian cricket team and travelled to the 1999 World Cup in England with the Mohammed Azharuddinled Aunshuman Gaekwadcoached team Everyone wanted to know how Simpson would help Indian cricket as a consultant especially after he was replaced by Australia post their 1996 World Cup campaign which ended in a runnersup finish Dean Jones the Australian batsman who played a fair bit during Simpsonrsquos coaching years told me then ldquoSimmo will dot the Is and cross the Ts for Indiardquo Simpsonrsquos consultancy tenure didnrsquot last long thoughAfter the disappointing 1999 World Cup the BCCI made Kapil Dev coach a move that coincided with Sachin Tendulkarrsquos second stint as captain of India There was a fair bit of optimism over the new coach doing well and that can naturally put the concerned coach under pressureBut Kapil displayed more excitement than worry before his first Test as coachmdashagainst NZ at Mohali India after all hadnrsquot won a Test for eight months ldquoIt feels good to embark on a new adventure here I donrsquot feel like a coach but one of the playersrdquo Kapil saidJohn Wright the Zealander came in with a lot to fix in Indian cricket in late 2000 There were not many naysayers before his appointment as Indiarsquos first foreign coach and was expected to make a good fist of it Pundits who knew him before he signed the dotted line were confident that his lowprofile nature would bode well for Indian cricket and so it did Ravi Shastri certainly felt so ldquoHaving seen him as player and as captain of New Zealand I know his work ethic will be strong and demandingrdquo wrote Shastri in Cricket Talk magazineWrightrsquos successor Greg Chappell arrived in 2005 with much fanfare and optimism over Indian cricket going to a new level Success at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean was paramount after a runnersup finish in the previous one in Southern Africa Chappellrsquos reputation as a topclass batsman and incisive mind led to people feeling confident that all holes will be plugged Bishan Singh Bedi welcomed Chappellrsquos entry by saying that he would be a tough nut and would brook no nonsense from the players Frank Tyson the former England pace terror who spent half a lifetime in coaching was not so hopeful of Chappellrsquos success because he felt his teamcoaching experience was restricted to South AustraliaIn the end it was a mixed bag for ChappellGary Kirsten the South African came in as fulltime coach after Ravi Shastri and Chandu Borde were put in charge of affairs There were no great expectations from Kirsten but he ended up guiding India to the 2011 World Cup win His successor Duncan Fletcher was viewed as someone who could help India challenge England and Australian on their soil in Test cricket after having helped England to the 2005 Ashes win But that was not to be because India suffered 04 losses in both these nations in 2011 and 201112 Fletcher however was coach of the team which won the 2013 Champions TrophyShastri who virtually took over as boss during the 2014 tour of England did justice to the expectations to a large extent in multiple stints Anil Kumble was expected to be an organised tight coach and those expectations were met Unfortunately problems between then captain Virat Kohli seemed irreparableDravidrsquos appointment as head coach in November 2021 too was received with optimism And though the debit side of the book has Indiarsquos failure to win the last World Test Championship final as well the ODI World Cup final under the former captainrsquos watch Dravid has left a fine legacy His experience of coaching the India U19 team before taking up the senior role would have been more than just handyIf there is a downside to Gambhirrsquos appointment it is that he was selected on the basis of his Indian Premier League IPL experience as mentor for two franchises Of course he has been a twotime IPLwinning captain for Kolkata Knight Riders Having displayed his pragmatic side often Indiarsquos new head coach will now just want to get on with the job in Sri Lanka and pay less attention to what people say while previewing his rolemiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper