“Team culture le ke aayenge…”: Irfan Pathan lauds Gautam Gambhir’s coaching philosophy

Irfan Pathan, a former all-rounder for India, has endorsed head coach Gautam Gambhir and commended him for prioritising "team culture" over "star culture" in Indian cricket. In an open statement, Pathan emphasised how long-standing preference for well-known names has frequently harmed up-and-coming players. He also implied that Gambhir and the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, are committed to bringing about long-lasting reform in Indian cricket.

Irfan recently went on a podcast with Lallantop, where he talked about several topics that raised many eyebrows. One of the topics he mentioned was the philosophy Gaumtam Gambhir is following for his coaching with the Indian Cricket Team. He lauded Gambhir for a great philosophy that places the team at a much higher value than a single individual.

"Mere liye team culture bohut important hai. Gautam Gambhir jo hai na wahaan pe, jab tak wo apni coaching journey khatam karenge na, wo team culture le ke aayenge puri tarah ser. (For me, team culture is very important. As long as Gambhir is the coach, he will fully instill team culture)”, he said.

India has had great success in various formats of the game over the last few decades. However, there have also been instances of debate about whether a single established individual is being given more importance than the team. Favouring of some individuals has been highlighted by some people, which was liked by some and wasn’t much appreciated by others.

Further adding to his statement, he mentioned “Humare yahaan ek banda fail hue ja raha hai 3,4,5 saal se magar usko chance de do kyuki wo bohut bada player hai. Kahi to aapko full stop lagana padega na. (Here, a player keeps failing for 3,4,5 years, but still gets opportunities because he is a big name. Somewhere, you have to put a full stop.”

He was all praises for the Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar as well. He said, “Dusra jinka nasm nahi aata, wo banda abada jabardast hai Indian cricketer k liye – chairman Ajit Agarkar.

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