Gautam Gambhir had a mixed start to his coaching tenure with the Indian team on the Sri Lanka tour. Under Gambhir's guidance, a young Indian side completed a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka in the T20I series, but the experienced side, with Rohit Sharma as captain, lost the ODI series 0-2. The Indian batters had a tough time adjusting to the spin conditions in Lanka during the ODI series, as apart from skipper Rohit, no other visiting batters failed to make an impact in the three ODIs.

Gambhir, who mentored Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants, was put under the scanners straightway after her first assignment. However, his former colleague Jonty Rhodes, LSG fielding coach, has backed passionate Gambhir to replicate his IPL success with the Indian team.

Rhodes suggested that Gambhir won't be lenient on players as he only wants excellence from his side.

"I know how passionate he is. You know, he looks for excellence on and off the field, but he doesn't expect players to do something that he never did or he won't do. So. I think from that point of view, he's somebody who's not gonna be lenient with anybody unless it's required because he's expecting. He just wants excellence. I mean, he wants the team to win, and it's not for his record or for what he can achieve," Rhodes told Indian Today.

Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as India's new head coach after Rohit Sharma and Co.'s historic triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The former Indian opener came with a huge reputation after mentoring KKR to their third IPL title in 2024.

‘Gautam Gambhir wants to win desperately’

Meanwhile, the legendary Proteas cricketer further said that every team needs time to make adjustments when a new captain or coach comes.

"Every team that he's involved in, he's wanted to win desperately, and you see the way that he bats, the way that he captains. He's so passionate, so involved in the game. I think any time there's a change, whether it be the leadership from a captaincy point of view or from a coach and management, it's going to take an adjustment. So you know, once they find their feet, we know India has the strength and the talent pool and the depth of talent to certainly allow him to hit the ground and pick up speed very quickly in his coaching career," said Rhodes.

Gambhir's first assignment as head coach in red-ball cricket will be the two-match Test series against Bangladesh next month.

Read Also: Rohit Sharma not lazy or casual; was hitting yorkers for sixes as umpire warns against 'getting fooled' by public image