Gautam Gambhir’s working relationship with Rohit Sharma did not begin when the former became India’s head coach. Speaking to JioStar, Gambhir explained that familiarity played an important role when he eventually had to work with Rohit in a coach and captain setup. Rather than having to establish an understanding from scratch, the two already knew each other’s personalities and cricketing philosophies.
Their understanding was built years earlier, when both were still part of the Indian dressing room as players, according to Gambhir.
“I don’t think so. See, Rohit’s and my relationship was not just of captain and coach. “So Rohit’s and my relationship is from back then. It isn’t like Rohit and I had a new relationship, or that I came as a coach from a foreign country who has neither seen Rohit play nor knows Rohit individually or personally, what kind of person he is,” Gambhir added. However, Gambhir pointed to their playing days as the foundation of their relationship. By the time he became coach, he had already watched Rohit develop from a young international cricketer into one of India’s leading players and captain. That history, he suggested, made communication considerably more straightforward. “So often when you have played together, things become very easy. And in fact, he knows my thinking; I know his thinking.
Because tomorrow I might have some other thinking, the captain might have some other thinking, but ultimately, whatever is in the best interest of the team, if that is the final decision, then nothing can be better than that,” Gambhir said.
Rohit’s and my relationship, when Rohit came into the team, I was a senior player at that time,” Gambhir said while speaking on JioStar.
Rohit has known me since then.
Differences in opinion could exist, but the final call had to be guided by what benefited Indian cricket. Gambhir also broadened his point beyond Rohit, saying the same principle had applied during his interactions with the captains he has worked with as India coach. His remarks provide context to the coach captain dynamic that has surrounded the Indian team during his tenure. Gambhir’s account suggests that his familiarity with Rohit was not created by their time together in the leadership setup, but had its roots in the period when Gambhir was already an established senior player and Rohit was beginning his international journey. That shared history, Gambhir indicated, gave both men a pre existing understanding that could be carried into their professional relationship years later.
The emphasis, according to Gambhir, was therefore not on ensuring that the coach and captain agreed on every issue.
