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Why Is Gautam Gambhir India's Best Choice As Head Coach Despite Recent Sri Lanka Woes?

Gautam Gambhir- (X.com)Gautam Gambhir- (X.com)

The Champions Trophy 2025 will begin in February next year, and there is a lot to improve for the new-looking Indian team as they suffered an embarrassing series defeat against Sri Lanka and only have three ODIs before the mega-ICC event. 

Gambhir's tenure with the Indian team in ODIs began on a low as the Men in Blue lost their first series against the Island Nation in 27 years. After the defeat, there were heavy criticisms, and a few even raised concerns over Gambhir being India's head coach.

The former India opener was even compared with Greg Chappel. However, this article will shed light on why Gautam is the right guy to coach India for the Champions Trophy 2025.

1. Shows No Mercy Towards Senior Players

One of the issues that has pertained within the Indian cricket system is that the ouster of senior cricketers is not done at the right time. It is seen often that the players drag their careers and the youngsters lose valuable play time.

However, Gambhir is different and does not shy away from showing doors to underperforming seniors as seen in the case against Ravindra Jadeja who was not picked for the Sri Lanka series. 

2. Takes Bold Decisions

Another thing for Gambhir is that he likes to think differently from the rest and make bold decisions. As seen with KKR, he asked Sunil Narine to open the innings which turned out to be the masterstroke. 

Further, in the Sri Lanka series, Gambhir asked the batters to roll their hands at bowling, which turned out to be positive in the T20Is. This move might not look great now, but till the Champions Trophy comes close, the Men in Blue might have some great bowling options as seen in the early 2000s.

3. Past Success

One positive for Gambhir is that he has results in his hand. When he mentored Lucknow Super Giants, he guided the KL Rahul-led side to playoffs in both seasons. 

When Gautam moved to KKR, he ended their 10-year trophy drought and the Shreyas Iyer-led side won their first trophy since 2014.