‘He would cry after losing matches’ – Gautam Gambhir’s childhood coach speaks about his demeanour

Gambhir with his childhood coach Sanjay Bhardwaj. (Source – Twitter/X)

Gautam Gambhir’s childhood coach Sanjay Bhardwaj spoke about his former pupil’s passion for the sport and hunger to succeed since his young days. Gambhir, the current India head coach, has had a topsy-turvy start to his new role, having won three, lost one, and tied one out of five games.

Bhardwaj said that Gambhir is often misuderstood as being someone who is arrongant and having an incorrect attitude. However, the coach mentioned that Gambhir is like a ’12-year-old kid’, who is always looking to be on the winning side and not taking defeats lightly.

“Even today he is like an innocent kid. He has no malice. He is like a 12-year-old kid. People think he is arrogant, but that is his attitude towards winning. I used to make him play matches after nets and he would cry after losing matches. He did not like losing even back then. So, a person with a true personality like him will obviously remain serious,” Bhardwaj said while speaking to 2018 Under-19 World Cup winner Manjot Kalra’s show on YouTube.

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Bhardwaj reiterated that Gambhir looks arrogrant and serious on most occasions but asserted that it is mostly because of his winning mentality.

What Gambhir will work on is the tactical aspects: Bhardwaj

Gambhir was criticised by former India cricketers like Ajay Jadeja and Saba Karim after the first ODI between Sri Lanka and India ended in a tie. Part-time off-spinner Shubman Gill conceded 14 runs on a difficult track and Jadeja and Karim pointed it out as the turning point of the game as they felt that it helped Sri Lanka shift the momentum in their favour.

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However, Bhardwaj feels that Gambhir’s role as the head coach will be different to his predecessors like Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid.

“Gautam Gambhir will not go after the technical aspects. Because at that level, there is not need for technical improvement. You are there because you are good enough technically. What Gambhir will work on is the tactical aspects. Gambhir’s job will be to boost morale and inject confidence into a player who may not to too sure about himself,” added Bhardwaj.