“Gautam Gambhir Is A Kid”: Childhood Coach Makes Stunning Revelation

Gautam Gambhir’s childhood coach, Sanjay Bharadwaj, has said that people often confuse Gambhir’s drive to win and achieve success with arrogance. Calling him a ‘kid,’ Bharadwaj—who has shared a three-decade-long association with Gambhir—defended his most famous disciple. Gambhir was recently appointed head coach of Team India after mentoring the Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL 2024 title. Despite Gambhir’s clashes with figures like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, his coach believes he is misunderstood.

Speaking to former U19 World Cup winner Manjot Kalra on the latter’s YouTube channel, Bharadwaj said, “Gautam Gambhir is a kid. 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,” Bharadwaj explained. “I used to make him play matches after nets, and he would cry after losing. He did not like losing even back then,” he added.

Bharadwaj credited Gambhir for shaping the careers of many young players, defending his attitude.

“People think he has an attitude, this and that. No, Gambhir is pure at heart. He is polite and has made the careers of so many youngsters,” said Bharadwaj. He cited pacer Navdeep Saini, who got a chance due to Gambhir’s insistence.

“If you get in your comfort zone, if you’re smiling all the time, will you win? A person who understands how to win should know how to avoid defeat,” Bharadwaj stated.

Gambhir began his stint as Team India head coach on a positive note, as India whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20I series. Gambhir received praise for developing India’s tactical approach, with Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav taking on significant roles.

“Gautam Gambhir will not go after the technical aspects,” said Bharadwaj. “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 be too sure about himself,” he added.