Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir (X-BCCI)
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’s the last final decision, then nothing can be better than that,” Gambhir said. For Gambhir, the key is therefore not that a coach and captain must always agree.
It is not 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 said. Long before Gambhir became India’s head coach and Rohit led the national side, the two had already shared a dressing room. Gambhir was an established senior player when Rohit entered the India team, giving their relationship a familiarity that Gambhir believes made their later coach-captain equation different from a conventional one. Reflecting on the four India captains he has worked with during his coaching tenure in a conversation with JioStar, Gambhir explained that he and Rohit did not have to build their relationship from scratch when he became coach. “I don’t think so. See, Rohit’s and my relationship wasn’t just of captain and coach. Rohit’s and my relationship, when Rohit came into the team, I was a senior player at that time. So Rohit’s and my relationship is from back then. “So often when you have played together, things become very easy. And in fact, he knows my thinking, I know his thinking. Different views can exist, but an understanding of each other’s thinking can help ensure those differences do not become a distraction when the final decision has to be made for the team. Against that backdrop, Gambhir’s comments offer a glimpse into the long-standing understanding between two men whose professional relationship has evolved from senior player and young cricketer to captain and coach.
Rohit knew me since then.
That shared history can make it easier for a coach and captain to deal with situations where they do not necessarily arrive at the same conclusion, according to Gambhir.