Gautam Gambhir gives his verdict on Rahul Dravid's appointment as India coach, lists 3 reasons why he will be successful
Gautam Gambhir said that Rahul Dravid was a successful player and a captain and he believes that the former India captain will also be a successful coach.
Team India rang in a new era on Wednesday when they took on New Zealand in the first T20I of the three-match bilateral series. It was the side's first game under their new permanent T20I captain Rohit Sharma and their new head coach Rahul Dravid. The new partnership holds a lot of promise and former India opener Gautam Gambhir concurs.
While speaking Star Sports show, 'Follow the Blues', Gambhir shared his thought on Dravid being appointed as Team India’s new head coach. He said that the former India captain was a successful player and he believes that he will also be a successful coach.
“He was a very successful player then he became a very successful captain and I'm sure he is going to become a very successful coach as well. With him in that dressing room, I think he brings a lot of assurance, he’s played more than 100 Test matches. He’s captained the side, his work ethics were unbelievable, really hard working. So, I think he brings a lot on the table," said Gambhir.
This, as it turns out, is not the first coaching role in the Indian cricketing system for "The Wall." Before taking over the reins from Ravi Shastri, Dravid was involved with the India U-19 and India 'A' sides.
When asked, during the pre-match press conference whether he would employ the same template, which was a very successful one, Dravid quipped:
“Certain coaching principles remain the same but (certain things) definitely need to change for different teams. Will take time for me to understand and mould myself to get the best out of players. That’s my philosophy."
IND vs NZ, 1st T20I: Suryakumar Yadav, new skipper Rohit Sharma steer India to win
Meanwhile, he got off to a winning start. After opting to bowl, India restricted New Zealand to 164/6 in 20 overs. Opener Martin Guptill (70) and Mark Chapman (63) were the stars of the first innings.
In response, and as has been the case of late, the India duo of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma got the team off to a resounding start. They put on 50 runs for the 1st wicket before Rahul was dismissed on 15 in the 6th over by Mitchell Santner. Then, Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav put on 59 for the second wicket. Rohit was dismissed on 48 by Trent Boult and a few overs later, Boult cleaned up Yadav on 62.
Eventually, the match went right down to the wire as the Black Caps chipped in with quick wickets. However, Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 17 took India to a five-wicket win with 2 balls to spare.