Gautam Gambhir may soon become the head coach of Team India, and he had some firm words of advice for Hardik Pandya. Ahead of IPL 2024, Pandya had been made Mumbai Indians captain, replacing long-time skipper Rohit Sharma. However, Mumbai Indians incurred a troublesome season, finishing bottom of the table for the second time in three seasons. Pandya was an unpopular captain, being booed by his own fans. Gambhir, who won IPL 2024 as mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders, offered some words of wisdom to Pandya for future IPL seasons.
Speaking on Forbes’ India’s ‘Top 30 Talent Leaders of 2024’, Gambhir was asked what he would suggest Pandya to succeed as MI captain.
“First and foremost, treat Rohit Sharma and the youngest member of the team in exactly the same way. It is a tough job, but leaders are bound to take tough decisions. Otherwise, you will become a follower,” said Gambhir.
“If you’re a leader, you’re a leader for everyone in that dressing room,” Gambhir added.
“To do that, you need to have a lot of courage and self-belief. That is, for me, the first and foremost quality of being a true leader,” said Gambhir, who won IPL twice as captain of KKR (2012 and 2014).
The removal of Rohit Sharma – a five-time IPL winning captain with MI – as captain was met with several unhappy voices from former players, experts, and fans alike.
“You cannot have different things for different individuals looking at their profile. If you want to become a leader, profiles do not matter,” Gambhir stated.
Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have put their Mumbai Indians struggles behind them, as they aim to take India to a second T20 World Cup title. Under Rohit’s leadership, Pandya has made handy contributions with both bat and ball.
India take on Bangladesh on June 22 and Australia on June 24 in the Super 8 stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
