Kamal Ghorui
India head coach Gautam Gambhir said every effort in a team game deserves recognition, stressing that contributions often overlooked are as important as headline performances.After India’s win over West Indies on Sunday, which ensured them a semi-final birth, Gambhir pointed out that Shivam Dube’s two boundaries in the penultimate over were crucial to the result, just like Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 97.“Glad you’re talking about every contribution because for many years, we’ve only spoken about certain contributions. This is a team sport, and this will always remain a team sport,” Gambhir said.“For me, Shivam’s two boundaries are as important as Sanju’s 97 because if he hadn’t hit those two boundaries, you won’t even spoken about it (97-run knock).”“The big contribution makes headlines. The small contribution, the contribution that can help the team win, cross that line, are very important,” the India coach said.Gambhir said this approach would define his tenure as coach.“And that’s why I say that this is going to be the philosophy going forward till I am there.”
My coaching mantra is based on instinct not data
While data analysis plays a key role in modern T20 cricket, Gambhir said he relies more on instinct than numbers.“I don’t believe in data, honestly. I’ve never seen the data. I don’t even know what data is all about. I absolutely do not believe in it, because I feel it’s more about instinct,” Gambhir said, despite the team working closely with data analyst Hari Prasad.“T20 cricket is about instinct and backing your instinct as well. Whatever knowledge I have about the game and T20 format, I try and probably give it to the captain, try and help him out as much as I can.Looking ahead to the semifinal against England at the Wankhede Stadium, Gambhir described the opposition as strong and the venue as challenging.“They (England) are a world-class team, they’re a quality team, they’ve got a lot of quality players as well and we all know that Wankhede is a tough venue.“Hopefully, we can turn up and see that we have another opportunity to do something special for the team, for the country and hopefully we play a best game as well. That is going to be very important,” Gambhir said.
