“I think it’s refreshing”: Ravi Shastri on Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as new India head coach

The former India head coach believes that Gambhir can flourish in the role as he is taking over a relatively settled and matured team

Gautam Gambhir took over Rahul Dravid as the India head coach after the latter stepped down from the post following India’s T20 World Cup triumph. It may be quite a tough task, but former India coach Ravi Shastri believes that Gambhir can flourish in the job given he takes over a relatively settled team.

“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,” Shastri told ICC.

“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. 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,” Shastri added.

Gambhir’s first task as head coach will be the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka which will commence later this month.