CAB President Snehasish Ganguly bats for more time for head coach Gautam Gambhir
Gambhir was announced as the head coach of the Indian side on July 9, 2024.
India head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has not quite had a desirable start to his coaching stint. He has been at the centre of a first bilateral series loss to Sri Lanka in ODIs in 27 years, a home series whitewash against New Zealand, and a 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The poor string of results have landed a whole lot of criticism on his credibility as a coach.
His next assignment as a coach will be the series against England, which kickstarts with the first T20I at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ahead of the game, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President, Snehashish Ganguly, backed Gambhir despite the recent setbacks.
“I feel happy because of his approach. As a coach, he got success for KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) after 12 years. We should give him some time. It has been some months since he has been handling the team after Rahul Dravid," stated Ganguly, as quoted by News18.
Shami is fit and raring to go
Another important indicator which the series would provide is Shami's readiness for the Champions Trophy. The star pacer last played for India at the 2023 edition of the Cricket World Cup, and has been out of the mix ever since. Recuperating from his knee surgery, he recently impressed for Bengal in the domestic circuit. It would be interesting to see how Shami fares in the games against England.
Snehasish, who also happens to be the elder brother of India legend Sourav Ganguly, was positive of star pacer Mohammed Shami making a positive comeback to international cricket.
“He came back after a year and bowled very well for Bengal. I was observing his bowling, and he seemed to be in great shape. He looks like the old Mohammed Shami - fit and raring to go," added Ganguly.
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The five-match T20I series followed by the three ODIs which India will play England in the next few weeks is set to be crucial for Gambhir's future with the side. After the recent failures, the 43-year-old would be expected to get the side back to winning ways.
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