'Speaks His Own Mind': Jonty Rhodes Gives His Verdict on Gautam Gambhir as India Head Coach

In a recent interview, South African cricket legend Jonty Rhodes offered high praise for Gautam Gambhir, the newly appointed head coach of the Indian cricket team. Rhodes, known for his exceptional fielding and cricketing acumen, shared his thoughts on Gambhir's coaching style and the potential impact he could have on the Indian team.

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Jonty Rhodes breaks silence on Gautam Gambhir taking up India head coach's role

Gautam Gambhir, who led KKR to two IPL titles during his captaincy, recently took up a coaching role with LSG and KKR before being appointed as India's head coach. Jonty Rhodes emphasized the visible impact Gambhir had when he transitioned from LSG to KKR, underscoring his ability to shape teams and elevate their performance.

"Wherever GG (Gautam Gambhir) goes he makes an impact, we saw this when he left the Lucknow Super Giants and went to the Kolkata Knight Riders the impact that he had," Rhodes told PTI at an event on Saturday.

"He is very much a hands-on guy and is certainly somebody who knows what he wants and speaks his own mind. Gambhir leaves no stone unturned, and now that he has taken over the reigns of the Indian team, they will go from strength to strength," he added.

Rhodes, who is the fielding coach of Lucknow Super Giants, also lauded Zaheer Khan's appointment as mentor of the IPL side.

He said Zaheer's calm head will help the side get through tense situations during a game.

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Rhodes said, “A calm cricketing mind is what you need at the IPL level, especially in the dugout scenario. You need people with calm heads because it gets very tense.”

“If emotions start to get the better of you it impacts everybody sitting in the dug-out or on the field. In such situations, it is great to have someone like Zak (Zaheer), because he brings the skills and the knowledge, and he also brings the mojo,” he said.

“We have worked together at Mumbai Indians and he is technically very sound indeed.”

(With PTI inputs)