 "Gautam Gambhir was the mentor of the KKR team that won the IPL in 2024. AFP")
Amid heavy criticism, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been tagged as “the best every coach, human being, mentor” by Afghanistan wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz who had played under the former India opener’s mentorship at the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gambhir has been facing brickbats since India’s embarrassing whitewash at home by South Africa last month. India’s 2-0 Test series loss to South Africa was the team’s second whitewash in last three series at home under Gambhir. However, Gurbaz showered praise on Gambhir and defended his performance by talking about white ball trophies.
Gambhir ‘best ever coach’
“If 1.4 billion people are there in your country, you can say 2-3 million will be against him. The rest are with Gautam sir and with India team. It doesn’t make sense to talk about them. He’s the best ever coach and human being, mentor that I have had in my career so far. I love the way he goes about things,” Gurbaz told PTI on Tuesday.
“India just won the Champions Trophy in ODI format, Asia Cup in T20 format. They have won a lot of series, so you can’t blame them for one series. I love the way he (Gambhir) goes about his job. When you have a good environment, you will be always on the top. He made the environment very easy for us, nothing stressful, nothing strict… and that’s why we won the tournament," he added.
On talks of Gambhir being too strict, Gurbaz said that he only wants discipline in the team.
He is not strict but he is disciplined. He is strict only when something goes against discipline,” he added.
Gurbaz also said that the players should be supported instead of being criticised after their loss.
“As a cricketer, I will never blame players because everyone works hard and tries their best. They lost, so what? They are human. Sometimes you lose — it’s part of life. When you are going through bad times, that’s when you need support,” Gurbaz said.