Former India player Dinesh Karthik stated that while head coach Gautam Gambhir is tactically very good, the RCB mentor feels man management is one area the southpaw needs to assess. While the former India opener proved his credentials in the white-ball formats by winning the ICC Champions Trophy, he is yet to assert his dominance in the red-ball format.
India, for the first time in their Test history, was whitewashed 3-0 at home by New Zealand in 2024. Later, the team went Down Under and conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in the decade by going down 3-1 to Australia. Gambhir will be under intense scrutiny as India plays in England for the five-match Test series starting June 20.
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Karthik said that while the team India head coach backs players to the hilt, he can't be as aggressive in the role as he was during his playing days.
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"Tactically, Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) is a very good coach. Man management is the area that I am sure he would be looking at. But one thing about him is that he is looking out for his players, which is massive. What I feel at times is that the way he is aggressive as a captain, you can't be as a coach. You are managing different individuals. Once you let them out in the park, you trust them to do the job. That is the challenge," Karthik said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
Gautam Gambhir set to begin a new bold era for the Indian Test team
With the Test retirements of Ravi Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, India will begin a new era in Test cricket under a young leader in Shubman Gill. The Test teams bear an inexperienced look, especially in the batting department. However, India's new Test captain is confident in his batters delivering the goods against an England bowling attack sans James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Mark Wood.
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Jofra Archer is also not fit for the first Test. India can draw inspiration from South Africa, who were inexperienced in the WTC 2025 Final match but yet showed enough fight and character to topple the mighty Australia to win their first ICC trophy in 27 years.
