India captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday said head coach Gautam Gambhir’s style is different from his predecessor Rahul Dravid but insisted he shares a good rapport with the new appointee, and the rest of his fresh set of support staff.
Gambhir, a World Cup-winning former opener, took charge of India in July during a white ball tour to Sri Lanka, and will now helm the team in its first Test series under his tutelage against Bangladesh, beginning in Chennai from Thursday (September 19, 2024).
In Gambhir’s first outing as coach, India swept the T20I series against the Islanders 3-0, but lost the ensuing ODI series 0-2.
“Obviously, Rahul bhai, Vikram Rathour (former batting coach) and Paras Mhambrey (former bowling coach) were a different team and it is only acceptable that the new support staff will bring different perspective,” Rohit said in the pre-series press conference here on Tuesday.
“But the matches that we engaged in (with the new staff) in Sri Lanka, they seemed to be sensible and understanding. They began to learn things pretty quickly within the team,” he added.
Dravid’s tenure ended after India’s T20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies and he will next be seen heading the coaching staff of IPL side Rajasthan Royals. Rathour and Mhambrey were replaced by Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach) and South African Morne Morkel (bowling coach), while former Dutch all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate also joined as an assistant coach.
While Nayar joining the team was largely a given, Morkel and Doeschate, who worked with Gambhir at the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, beat former pacers R Vinayakumar and L Balaji in the race to spots among the India support staff.
Rohit used his long association with Gambhir during the latter’s playing days, and with Abhishek Nayar in the Mumbai dressing room to underline his comfortable working relation with them.
“It’s a new (support) staff for sure, but I have known Gautam Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar long enough. Every support staff has its operating style, and that’s what we were expecting.
“I have worked with different coaches over 17 years of my career, and it’s vital to understand that all of them have a unique perspective (about cricket), and it’s a must that you adjust with them,” said Rohit.
While Rohit has never worked alongside Morkel and Doeschate, the 37-year-old said he has enough knowledge of them from their days as cricketers to strike a comfortable equation.
“I have also played matches against Morne Morkel and Ryan ten Doeschate. I have some close encounters with Morkel, but not so much with Ryan, may be a couple of matches. But that doesn’t matter.
“As of now, there have been no issues or problems as such (with the new set of support staff). We have a great understanding of each other.
“Good understanding is important, and I have that with them,” he added on his dynamics with the new head coach and his team.
In his first media interaction after taking charge in July, the 42-year-old Gambhir had also rejected apprehensions about his equation with the team’s senior players by citing his familiarity with them during his playing days.
We don’t need to create a whole different strategy for Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma asserted that there is no need to devise a new strategy in the upcoming series against Bangladesh, despite their impressive recent triumph over Pakistan and the presence of express pacer Nahid Rana in the visitors’ ranks.
Bangladesh defeated Pakistan 2-0 in their first win over the latter in a Test series but Rohit did not read too much into it.
“Every team wants to beat India. They take some pride in it. Let them have fun. Our job is to think about how to win the matches. We don’t ponder about what the opponent team is thinking about us,” said Rohit in the pre-match press meet.
“India has played cricket against almost every top team in the world. So, there’s no need to create a whole different strategy,” added Rohit.
The Mumbaikar was also not worried about pacer Rana, who can comfortably touch 150 clicks, but, rather than an individual, Bangladesh team as a whole remained his focal point.
“See, there will be a couple of new guys in the side. But all you can do is to think about them and move forward. The same would be the plan against Bangladesh, i.e. to focus on our gameplay,” he noted.
In that context, Rohit remarked that managing the workload of bowlers, particularly that of the pacers, will remain a top priority for him as the season contains a total of 10 Tests, including a high-value Border-Gavaskar series against Australia from November.
“You want your best players to play all the games, but that’s not possible because there is so much cricket. It is not only Test cricket, there is a T20 cricket happening in the middle of the Test series as well. So, you got to manage your bowlers around it.
“We have laid out some plans, as to how we are going to manage these bowlers. But yeah, we have done that pretty well. Even when we played against England, we managed to give (Jasprit) Bumrah one Test match off.” The captain was also excited to see some fresh talents like Yash Dayal and Akash Deep, both of them are part of the Indian team here, emerging and doing well in domestic competitions like Duleep Trophy.
“We have got a lot of bowlers who are there for us. You know, we saw the Duleep Trophy, like some exciting prospects there as well. So, yeah, I am not too worried about, you know, (because) the kind of bowlers who are waiting in the wings for us,” he added.
Rohit and the team management will also have to keep some of the young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel wrapped in cotton wool after experiencing some early success in top-flight cricket.
However, Rohit said these players have a mature head on their young shoulders.
“Honestly, we don’t need to speak too much to them. Jaiswal, Jurel, Sarfaraz, all of them… we saw glimpses of what they can do. So, they have everything that is required to be a top player for India in all three forms.
“Obviously we have to nurture them and we have to keep talking to them. But at the end of the day, you know, when you’re playing a sport like this, it all depends on what you think in your mind.
“I think they’re very clear with what they want to do. They’re very hungry to play cricket for India and be successful,” he elaborated.
Rohit said the fearless yet responsible approach of these players have made the team management’s task of handling them a lot easier.
“Jaiswal had a great series (against England at home. Jurel showed what he is capable of with the bat. Getting those runs and in tough situations was good…you know, being fearless and not worrying too much about what happens outside.
“So, you need all kinds of players these days. It’s not about just having one sort of player. You need all sorts of players who are fearless, and who are cautious at the same time. You know, responsible as well. I think we have that mix of everything, which is a good sign,” he explained.
In fact, the series against Bangladesh will be India’s first outing in the traditional format after the home rubber against England earlier this year, in which they won 4-1.
Rohit admitted that returning to red-ball cricket after a lengthy hiatus was not easy but pinned his confidence on the preparatory camp the team had here ahead of the rubber against Bangladesh.
“It’s not easy when you don’t play (red-ball cricket) for a period of 6-8 months. But, see, the good thing is that a lot of guys in the squad are quite experienced. It (long gap) has happened previously as well, which is why it was important for us to have this little camp over here in Chennai,” he said.
The 37-year-old said the Duleep Trophy ahead of this series was a blessing for some of the players like Rishabh Pant and Sarafaraz Khan, who have not played much cricket in the last few months.
“We assembled here on the 12th and we’ve had a good time spending hours on the field, getting everything together. Yeah, it is tough, but see, now people can manage themselves pretty well.
“The guys who have not played a lot of Tests went on to play the Duleep Trophy, which was good. So, in terms of preparation, in terms of readiness, I feel, you know, we are quite ready for this game and what lies ahead of us,” he signed off.
Published – September 17, 2024 02:46 pm IST
