Gautam Gambhir receives a reality check from former Pakistani star with 'Rahul Dravid' reference: 'You're creating pitches where...'

Gautam Gambhir has faced challenges in his early days as a coach, particularly in the realm of red-ball cricket. Team India experienced their first Test series loss at home in more than ten years under his guidance. While he began his coaching tenure with a successful 2-0 series victory against Bangladesh, a similar outcome was anticipated in the three-match series against New Zealand. However, the tables turned as the Kiwis triumphed over the Asian Giants with a clean sweep of 3-0.

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.

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.