Gautam Gambhir having a chat with assistan coach Abhishek Nayar.© BCCI
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal has shared his views on Gautam Gambhir's tenure as head coach of the Indian team thus far. Gambhir took over the reigns in July this year, replacing T20 World Cup-winning head coach Rahul Dravid. The former India opener took charge with a big reputation, having mastermined Kolkata Knight Riders' Indian Premier League triumph earlier this year. In his first Test incharge of the team, India hammered Bangladesh by 280 runs in Chennai last week. However, Tamim feels its too early to judge Gambhir.
Speaking ahead of the start of play on Day 1 of the 2nd Test in Kanpur, Tamim suggested that Gambhir's 'real character' will come out once the Indian team loses a few games.
"When you're winning, you don't know the real character of the man. It's only when you lose a series, then you lose another, that the real character comes out. No doubt, he is a capable man, but it's too early. Let India have a bad game, then we will see what comes out," Tamim said on Sports 18.
Meanwhile, India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur on Friday. Hosts India, who lead the two-match series 1-0, have fielded an unchanged side.
Bangladesh have however made a couple of changes with Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam replacing Taskin Ahdmed and Nahid Rana. The start of the match was delayed due to a wet outfield. India had won the opening Test by 280 runs.
India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh XI: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled Ahmed