What if Gautam Gambhir would have been head coach of England cricket team?

Former Indian cricketer, Gautam Gambhir, took on the role of India's all-format head coach on July 9, 2024. He inherited the mantle from Rahul Dravid, another legend of Indian cricket. Gambhir had had a quite mixed start to his coaching career. Things went from bad to worse when India lost to New Zealand (0-3 at home) and Australia (4-1 away from home).

However, a successful rout of England in the white-ball series followed by a title-winning Champions Trophy campaign breathed new life into his coaching journey. Below is a hypothetical case in relation to the various parameters which would come into play if the steely-eyed Gambhir was provided with an opportunity to become the head coach of England.

What if Gautam Gambhir became the head coach of England?

Gambhir made a shift into commentary and politics after retiring as a professional cricketer. He does not have a flashy resumé like a lot of other former cricketers in the coaching space. However, what stood out was his stint with former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, during the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League.   

With English cricket always leaning towards an aggressive brand of cricket, his influence of instilling discipline and mental toughness as mentor could have been ideal for the English cricket team. England cricket would ideally have relished the substance Gambhir would provide with his purposeful personality.

As mentioned above, England have embraced a sense of assertiveness in their cricket. While being on the front-foot isn't necessarily problematic, it can cause problems like those which surfaced in England's tour of India in the early part of 2024. There were instances when recklessness led England to lose the advantage they had built over time.

Appointing Gambhir as head coach could quite possibly embed the one aspect England have lacked under Brendon McCullum's Bazball era, which is sensible aggression. Gambhir could be expected to instill values like refining situational awareness and combining common-sense with controlled intent. 

Similar to his playing days, Gambhir would be strong on demanding accountability from his players. English cricket has had a notorious history of following a one-dimensional attitude while playing the game, regardless of the format in contention. A few hard-hitting batters who usually tend to throw away their wickets in the name of scoring quickly would immediately be advised to re-align their strategies in the best interest of the team.

Right from team meetings to conversations with players on an individual basis, there would be instant clarity provided to them. An element of balance would be provided to the coaching staff and the players in terms of what is expected of them. Selection committee would also be more inclined to pick the players which Gambhir would want, therefore lifting the overall standard of English cricket to new heights.