Brendon McCullum Backs Gautam Gambhir Amid Criticism as India Coach

SportsBettingMarkets » Cric News India » Brendon McCullum Backs Gautam Gambhir Amid Criticism as India Coach

January 20, 2025 0 714

Brendon McCullum defended Gautam Gambhir’s leadership as India’s head coach, praising his strong and proven abilities despite recent team setbacks.

England’s white-ball coach, Brendon McCullum, has supported India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir amid growing criticism of his coaching tenure. McCullum, who shared a successful stint with Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders, praised his leadership skills and ability to maximize a team’s potential.

Under Gambhir’s coaching and Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India has faced mixed results. The team struggled in ODIs, losing a series against Sri Lanka, and won only four of ten Tests. However, India’s T20 performance has been exceptional, with convincing series wins over South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh.

McCullum expressed confidence that Gambhir will unlock India’s talent and drive success in the future. He noted that countering Gambhir’s strategic approach will be crucial for England in upcoming matches.

“What I will say about Gautam Gambhir is I’ve worked with him before and he’s an outstanding leader. He’s a really strong leader of men and in the time that he’s had in any sort of leadership positions which he’s held previously, he’s been able to excel I’m sure,” McCullum said in a press conference.

“He’s only just sort of got underway with this team, but there’s no doubt that he’ll get the best out of the talent that he’s got, and we’ve got to find a way to be able to counter that with our own style,” he added.

McCullum’s tenure as KKR’s head coach showcased an innovative style that secured him the role of England’s red-ball coach, later earning him the white-ball coaching job. Gambhir, meanwhile, took charge of India across formats after mentoring KKR to the IPL 2024 title.

His first assignment in this role is the ongoing series against India, featuring five T20Is and three ODIs. McCullum then acknowledged that coaching styles vary significantly.

“I don’t really know, sometimes I don’t even know if coach is the right word to be honest. I think everyone does things really differently, and everyone’s approaches are very unique and from how I try and operate, I think it’s probably less of a coach and try and make sure that the environment is a happy and enjoyable environment where you guys feel as if they can push their talents and push themselves towards the uncomfortable situations and know that there’s still going to be that support and that care there afterward and be encouraged to go again towards those,” he said.

“Other coaches are very different, they like to run quite structured, quite technical. Other coaches are probably a bit more regimented in the way that they go about things, but I guess it’s really different,” McCullum concluded.