Kolkata. India’s first World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev said about former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir that in today’s cricket setup, Gambhir should be seen as a team manager instead of a coach. Speaking at the ICC Centenary Session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Kapil said the term ‘coach’ is often misunderstood in contemporary cricket and questioned its relevance at the highest level.
Kapil’s comments come amid growing criticism of Gambhir for frequent rotation of players and over-reliance on all-rounders following India’s recent 0-2 Test series defeat at home.
Kapil said, “Today, this word called coach, coach is a very common word. Gautam Gambhir cannot be a coach. He can be a team manager. He said that when you say coach, coach is the one from whom I learn in school and college. He said while questioning how Gautam Gambhir can teach the nuances of cricket to a leg-spinner or a wicketkeeper.
According to him, this work is done by school or college level coaches. The real job of a head coach at the international level is to understand the personality of the players, boost their morale and create the right environment for the team.” The former all-rounder stressed that the job of a coach is more to manage the players properly than to teach technical skills.
“I think you have to manage. That’s more important. As a manager you encourage them that you can do it, because when you become a manager, young boys look up to you,” he said. Kapil explained that creating a supportive environment was a major responsibility of both the captain and the team management.
He said, “How can you coach a leg spinner or a wicketkeeper when they are already experts in that art? In such a situation, the most important job is management. A manager gives confidence to the players, boosts their morale and makes them realize that they can do better.”
Kapil said, “The job of a captain or a manager is to give comfort and confidence to the team. Especially to those players who are not performing well.” Sharing his captaincy experience, he said, “I would not go for dinner with a player who scores a century. I like to spend time with those who are struggling, so that they get confidence.”
Kapil concluded by emphasizing that leadership in cricket is more than just individual performance. “So I think it’s very important as a captain, and your role is not just your performance, but also to bring the team together,” he said.
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