India’s three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting on Friday, will also be the first time of the side playing under new head coach Gautam Gambhir. Skipper Rohit Sharma said Gambhir, who has taken over from Rahul Dravid, has a very clear mind in what he aims to do with the team.
“Look, Gautam Gambhir has played a lot of cricket firstly and then he has been involved with a franchise team as well before sitting at the top. So yes, like I said, it's obviously going to be different from the previous coaching staff. Every human and individual is different. Before when Rahul Dravid joined the team, we had Ravi Shastri.”
“So every individual works differently. I know Gautam Gambhir for a long time now. We played a little bit of cricket together. We have had a lot of chats together as well in the past. Now that he is here, he has got a very clear mind as to what he wants to do with the team, which is very good.”
“We don't want to plan too far ahead. We are here to play three games. So the goal and idea is to take something back from these three games and try and learn a lot about what we want to achieve in ODI cricket. So yes, it's a very exciting time,” said Rohit in the pre-match press conference.
Rohit Sharma details on his conversation with Gautam Gambhir:
Asked on what his chats with Gambhir have yielded so far, Rohit said:
“See, what we were talking about was basically about cricket. Like how to run the team, what are the needs, where are the shortcomings, where have we done well. Basically, it was just about catching up, because I didn't get a chance to meet him.”
“I came here and met him. So we were discussing a little bit about how to play with the team, what to do, what tournaments are coming up next, and what we have to do here, how to play against a particular team. Basically, we were talking about all this.”
Rohit also called for people to not be intrigued about whether Gambhir laughs or not during a match. “See Gautam Bhai has a lot of fun in the dressing room. He laughs a lot. Now, his personal is his personal. I don't think we should try and get into this personal space whether he will laugh or not, or whether he will do this or not. Everyone has their own way. You laugh a lot, maybe people don't like it. So it's up to everyone what they like and what they don't like.”
The ODIs against Sri Lanka also mark the start of India’s preparation for 2025 Champions Trophy.
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