NEWS
Follow UsGautam Gambhir was appointed India’s head coach ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka. The former India batter brought in Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches, while Morne Morkel was given the role of bowling coach. India won the T20I series against Sri Lanka but lost the ODI series 2-0 under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
Now, ahead of the first of the two Tests against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 in Chennai, Rohit spoke about Gambhir's coaching style and said he has had no trouble dealing with the current management so far. "The staff is new, but I know both Gautam Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar," said Rohit.
"I have played quite a bit of cricket against Morne Morkel; we've played some tough cricket against each other. I've also played, maybe a couple of games, against Ryan, but the two of us haven't spoken as much before. From what I experienced with him in Sri Lanka, I think he has a sensible and understanding personality, given the way he quickly started to understand things about the team.
"As for Gambhir and Nayar, like I said, I know them well. Sri Lanka was the first series (with them in charge), and now they are going to play their second series with the team. Everyone has their own style. Rahul (Dravid) bhai, Vikram Rathour, (and) Paras Mhambrey - they had a different way of running the team, (while) these guys will have a different style.
"So it's important for you to adjust. So far, there have been no problems or issues as a player. Like I said, if there is understanding between both (coaches and players), that's the most important thing. And we have a good understanding."
Bangladesh have never beaten India in a Test match. So, are Rohit and Co. going to treat this two-match Test series as a preparation for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year? "Look, at the end of the day, you are playing for your country," said Rohit.
"So there is no dress rehearsal kind of stuff happening here. Every game that we play is important, and every game becomes important because of what is at stake. In the World Test Championship, still the table is quite wide open, and you want to win every game. So it doesn't matter where we play in two months' time. We want to win here. We want to win this Test match."
Bangladesh themselves are coming into this series on the back of a historic 2-0 whitewash over Pakistan. Their skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has already said that Bangladesh will try to win both games. "Every team wants to beat India. They take some pride in it. Let them have fun.
“Our job is to think about how to win the matches. We don't ponder about what the opponent team is thinking about us. India has played cricket against almost every top team in the world. So, there's no need to create a whole different strategy.”
Rohit is also not too worried about tearaway quick Nahid Rana, who can consistently bowl at 145 KMPH but is thinking about the Bangladesh team as a whole. "See, there will be a couple of new guys in the side. But all you can do is think about them and move forward. The same would be the plan against Bangladesh, i.e. to focus on our gameplay.”
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