Dinesh Karthik believes Gautam Gambhir will be best suited for India’s head coach role after finding success in IPL 2024. Gambhir played a key role as a mentor to help Kolkata Knight Riders clinch their third IPL title as they defeated SRH by eight wickets at Chennai on Sunday. It was also Gambhir’s idea to promote Sunil Narine to the opening position and it paid dividends.
Karthik reckons Gambhir will infuse a winning culture within the team. Gambhir has been approached by the BCCI for the head coach as Rahul Dravid’s tenure will come to an end after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup.
Gambhir is known for his aggressive leadership and he certainly can take Indian cricket to new heights.
“He has really built a good team, one that will have a lot of players retained, and he’s left them in a very, very good place. If he gets the opportunity, I really wish he takes it. Being part of the national team and the patriotism that he has, I think he will definitely be tempted to take it,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.
“I really wish he comes in because he will infuse that winning culture he’s infused here, and India would do very well under him. When it comes to KKR, whenever he’s back, they’ll take him back with open arms,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gambhir was LSG’s mentor for two years and the team qualified for the playoffs on both occasions. The former Indian opener has an impressive track record as a coach and as a player. Karthik hailed Gambhir’s decision making which helped KKR lift their third IPL title.
“What a record he’s had as a coach. Being the mentor for LSG, two years on the bounce qualifying, comes to KKR, and they say, ‘Please, got to do something special for us’, ends up with the trophy. He’s been at the helm, taken all the decisions, be it sending Narine opening, or getting Mitchell Starc in the auction, all of those big recruits and getting the right team, the balance, and then taking all the shots. I’m seeing the news that he could part of the Indian team as well, and I really wish he does. He has that fire in him,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer also proved his mettle as a leader. Iyer had a great run in the ODI World Cup 2023 but could not deliver in two Test matches against England. He suffered a back injury and then was left out of BCCI’s central contract list of players.
“He went through a bit of a lull post the World Cup, which was probably one of the highlights of his career. He had a phenomenal World Cup What a tournament that was for him personally. He was one of the key players and did really well. But post that, his back struggle again started. He was picking and choosing matches, and it didn’t look good optically. People reacted a lot on what happened, they never understood his side of the story. By the time it came out, it was a bit too late,” Karthik said.
