1 week Ago By Debayan Bhattacharyya
India head coach Gautam Gambhir recently didn't take Ricky Ponting's comments on Virat Kohli in good sport and hit back at the ex Australia captain with a reply of his own. Gambhir's latest comments was met with heavy criticism from another former Australian captain Tim Paine, who feels that the former India batter is not a 'great fit' as coach of the national side. Ricky Ponting made comments about Virat Kohli's declining form, which is now a point of concern for the Indian team.
The 36-year-old is yet to score a century and Paine feels what Ponting pointed out was absolutely correct and India should worry about the coach's ability to stay calm under pressure. "I don’t love it. I think he’s maybe looking at Ricky still as someone he’s playing against, but Ricky is a commentator now - he’s paid to give an opinion, and his opinion was spot on.
Virat has been sliding, it is a concern, absolutely. But for me now, the biggest concern for India right now isn’t Rohit Sharma’s batting, isn’t Virat Kohli’s batting, it’s their coach and his ability to stay calm under pressure," Paine told SEN Tassie in an interaction. The 39-year-old heaped praise on former coach Ravi Shastri, who created a fantastic environment for the team and even led the side to two Border-Gavaskar Trophy victories during his tenure.
When it comes to Gambhir, he feels that the ex KKR mentor is too 'prickly' and not a good fit for the national team. “Their last two series wins out here they had Ravi Shastri who was fantastic. He created a great environment, the players were energised, they played with passion, he sold them the dream and motivated them in a really light-hearted enjoyable.
They have gone to a new coach now that is really prickly, really competitive - and that not to say that’s not a good thing and a good way to coach - but my concern is that it’s not a great fit for the Indian cricket team," he further added. Since taking over the job of head coach, India under Gambhir have won 3 T20I series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa and suffered series defeats on the hands of Sri Lanka in ODIs and a 3-0 Test whitewash against New Zealand. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.
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