Newly appointed India head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has made an impressive start to his coaching career, leading the team to a 3-0 T20I series victory against Sri Lanka. This triumph marks a significant milestone in Gambhir’s transition from player to coach, highlighting his ability to inspire and guide the team to success.
Suryakumar Yadav impresses with his captaincy
The series win was not only a testament to Gambhir’s coaching but also showcased the exceptional captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. In the post-series dressing room speech, Gambhir praised Suryakumar for his outstanding leadership and his crucial contributions with the bat. Surya’s strategic acumen and composure under pressure were key factors in India’s dominant performance throughout the series.
Hardik Pandya heaps praises on Suryakumar’s leadership
All-rounder Hardik Pandya also commended Suryakumar’s captaincy, highlighting his ability to lead the team effectively. Pandya, who shares a strong bond with the Pune-born cricketer from their time together at Mumbai Indians, expressed his admiration for Surya’s tactical decisions and leadership qualities. The heartfelt praise from both Gambhir and Pandya was shared by the BCCI in a video that quickly gained traction on social media.
“Guys, congratulations on a great series win. Congratulations to Surya as well, outstanding captaincy and more importantly with the bat as well. Guys, I asked for something before the start of the game and you absolutely delivered it. This is what happens when you keep fighting. You don’t give up. These kinds of games happen, and the only way these games can happen is when we keep fighting on every delivery and for every run,” Pandya stated.
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Hardik’s message for the team
In his message to the team, Pandya emphasized the importance of resilience and continuous improvement. He acknowledged the team’s effort in the series and encouraged them to keep fighting for every delivery and every run. Pandya highlighted the importance of learning from each game and adapting quickly to different conditions, stressing that these qualities would be crucial for future success.
“And this was the example we keep getting better, we keep improving our skills as well, because we need to still get better on playing on wickets like these, because we might end up getting these kinds of wickets. So we should first assess the situation and conditions really quickly and what is the par score as well. There is a lot of learning from this game, but more important than not this is a great series win,” added Pandya.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 💙
Head Coach Gautam Gambhir 🤝 Hardik Pandya address the dressing room as the action now shifts to the ODIs in Colombo #TeamIndia | #SLvIND | @GautamGambhir | @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/PFrTEVzdvd
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 31, 2024
Preparing for the upcoming ODI series
With the T20I series win under their belt, the Indian team is now gearing up for the upcoming ODI series. The focus will be on maintaining their winning momentum and further honing their skills. The lessons learned from the T20I series will be invaluable as the team looks to continue their success in the 50-over format.