Gautam Gambhir has had a difficult start to his coaching tenure, especially in red-ball cricket. India suffered its first Test series defeat on home soil in over a decade. He started off with a 2-0 series win over Bangladesh, and a similar result was expected in the three-match series against New Zealand, but the tables turned this time as the Kiwis whitewashed the Asian Giants 0-3.

The former opener is now under scrutiny, and comparisons with ex-India coaches are adding more pressure on him. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali also asserted that Rahul Dravid, who guided the Indian team to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, had a better understanding of the game than Gambhir, who took over the charge from him after mentoring KKR to the IPL 2024 title.

"Rahul Dravid's mind is better than Gautam Gambhir. Dravid made pitches for four days, where the ball would turn on the last couple of days. You are now making such pitches where even someone who isn't a regular spinner is getting a lot of turn right from the first day," Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Gambhir arrived in the Indian team with a big reputation as the BCCI also gave him a say in the team selection but things have not went well for him thus far. Right after he took over the reins, India lost an ODI series to Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, and then New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of his side in Tests at home on Sunday, something the team never experienced in its long cricketing journey.

In the last two Tests against New Zealand, the BCCI prepared turning tracks in Pune and Mumbai - the decision which backfired miserably as the Indian batters failed to tackle the kiwi spinners - Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner.

‘Rahul Dravid knew the psychology of the players’

Basit further talked about Dravid's coaching style and said he understood the players' psychology and didn't put any added pressure on them.

"Rahul Dravid was a good coach. He knew the psychology of the players. If you tell Virat Kohli to play T10 and T20 in Test cricket, then it's unfair," he added.

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