Gautam Gambhir's "prickly" coaching style may not bode well for the Indian team, and it could be a "long summer" if they fail to start strong in the Perth Test on November 22, warns former Australian captain Tim Paine. (More Cricket News)
Jolted by an unprecedented 0-3 home series loss to New Zealand, the Gambhir-coached side now face the daunting task of defending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in a five-match series against Australia, starting with the Perth Test.
바카라Their last two series wins out here they had Ravi Shastri who was fantastic. He created a great environment, the players were energised, they played with passion, he sold them the dream and motivated them in a really light-hearted enjoyable way," Paine said on SEN Radio.
바카라They (India) have gone to a new coach now that is really prickly, really competitive -- and that not to say that바카라s not a good thing and a good way to coach -- but my concern is that it바카라s not a great fit for the Indian cricket team.
바카라If your coach is the first one to crack in a press conference after being asked a simple question, it could be a really long summer for Gautam Gambhir if India don바카라t get off to a good start on Perth.바카라
Paine's comments stemmed from a recent media interaction where Gambhir took issue with Ricky Ponting's remarks on Virat Kohli바카라s struggling form, saying that the Australian legend need not be concerned about Indian cricket.
Ponting, in turn, described Gambhir "quite a prickly character".
'Gambhir, India's biggest concern'
Paine felt Gambhir's barb was a sign that he may not be able to stay calm under pressure which would be India's "biggest concern" -- even more than the struggling form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
바카라I don바카라t love it. It바카라s not a good sign I think, because all he was asked was a very simple question. I think he바카라s maybe looking at Ricky still as someone he바카라s playing against," Paine said.
"But Ricky is a commentator now -- he바카라s paid to give an opinion, and his opinion was spot on. Virat has been sliding, it is a concern, absolutely.
바카라But for me now, the biggest concern for India right now isn바카라t Rohit Sharma바카라s batting, isn바카라t Virat Kohli바카라s batting, it바카라s their coach and his ability to stay calm under pressure,바카라 he added.
