Gautam Gambhir counters Yuvraj Singh's call for experienced coaches in T20 cricket

Recently, former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh had criticized the appointment of Vikram Rathour as India's batting coach. Yuvraj Singh also questioned Rathour's ability to guide Indian players in T20 cricket. Yuvraj Singh went on to question his credentials, saying that he has just played six Tests and seven ODIs for India between 1996 and 1997. Yuvraj Singh reckoned that the current coach doesn’t have enough experience in that format. Yuvraj was also indirectly critical of Ravi Shastri's coaching, claiming that individuals need to be handled differently in the team and given more opportunities to shine despite failures to avoid insecurities.

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Gautam Gambhir contradicts Yuvraj Singh's statement about coaching credentials

Now, Gautam Gambhir has come out and contradicted Yuvraj Singh's statement. The southpaw said that it is not necessary to have huge experience to be a good coach. In a Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected, Gautam Gambhir said that it is important for a selector to have an experience of international cricket. However, the same doesn’t go for the coach to be successful. He added that one can probably just have a different T20 batting coach, specifically for that particular format.

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Gautam Gambhir further said that no coach can teach a batsman how to hit a lap shot or a reverse lap shot. Gautam Gambhir added that if someone is trying to do that to a player, he is harming him more than actually making him a better player. Gautam Gambhir believes that the coach’s work is just to make a player relaxed and give them the liberty to express themselves on the field. He reckons that a coach in the T20 format helps declutter the batsman's mind and makes them play big shots wisely.

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There is little doubt over the fact that Vikram Rathour has done a commendable job as the batting coach of the Indian team. Rathour took over the Team India’s batting coach role as a replacement for Sanjay Bangar back in 2019. Interestingly, he has almost solved the dilemma surrounding the No.4 batting position in the team due to which the national side was struggling since long with the emergence of Delhi Capitals captain and Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer.

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IMAGE COURTESY: PTI