Ravi Shastri – Gautam Gambhir’s most important task will be to understand his players

“He’s a modern guy, he’s had a great season in the IPL,” Shastri told Gambhir in the ICC Review. “I think he’s at the right age when he’s young, he’ll come with new ideas. He knows most of the players, especially the white ball players, they’ve been part of teams in the IPL. So I think it’s refreshing.

“And we also know Gautam, he’s a no-nonsense person. He’ll have his ideas too. And the good thing about him is that he has a mature team. He has a stable team, a mature team. I think though. you might think you’ve matured, you might benefit from new ideas so I think it’s going to be good times.

Gambhir takes over from Rahul Dravid after India’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, and his first assignment will be a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka starting with three T20Is on Saturday in Pallekele.

“Obviously, player management is key as a coach,” said Shastri. “So it’s going to be interesting to see how he goes. I think he’s got the tools, he’s got the equipment for the job and he’s got the experience.”

Shastri said Gambhir’s “most important task” will be to understand his players’ culture and their “behaviour”.

“It’s just a question of understanding his players as quickly as possible,” said Shastri. “What are their strengths, what kind of people are they and what kind of situation do they have. What is their personality. There is a lot that goes behind the scenes to understand a person.

“I think that’s going to be his most important job, which I think shouldn’t be a problem because he lives in the moment. He’s seen these foreign guys, he’s faced a lot of guys who might have played with KKR as well as Lucknow. [Super Giants] while he was there.

“And he was close to the circuit, when he finished cricket and it wasn’t too long ago, he is still here, playing famous cricket.”

In Tests, Gambhir’s biggest duties will be five Tests at home starting in September (two against Bangladesh and two against New Zealand) followed by five Tests in Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. In the white-ball format, the ICC trophies will be targeting the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup in 2026.

With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja no longer available for T20Is, Shastri said India needed to find the “right mix” for that format.

“I think that many players who won the T20 World Cup will still be there two years later,” he said. “He mentioned three retired players, but apart from them, I think most of the others will still be ready to be in the T20 World Cup team two years down the line in India.

“So I don’t see that there’s much left to be done there. You’re actually going to have a problem on your hands because you’re going to have to pick from the new fridge that’s coming in and there’s some exciting talent there.

“So I think it’s the other way around. How do you put in those guys who are breaking through to get you. There’s a line out there and it’s going to be his biggest challenge, but he’s a good head when you’ve got that kind of talent.”