Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Mohammad Kaif believes head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer will need to build rapport to drive the T20I team forward during the transition. They had a poor start together, with India losing series in Ireland and England after Suryakumar Yadav’s exclusion from the side. Shreyas Iyer worked with Gautam Gambhir earlier when he was the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor in the IPL 2024 season.

“I think Iyer and Gautam are yet to become a pair. When Iyer led India to a series win in Zimbabwe, Laxman was the coach there, Gambhir was not there on that tour. So we are yet to see how coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer work together because they have not won together yet. They lost in both Ireland and England,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.

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“So from that perspective, there will be a close eye on this, as to how they build a rapport. They have many decisions to make, such as whether Sanju Samson plays or Abhishek Sharma plays? Now, for the next T20 World Cup in 2028, they have to start from here only. So, I want to see how they work together in this series,” he again added.

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and India pacer Mohit Sharma also said that Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir will have to start building a bond to take the Indian team forward as well.

“It is really important that the coach and captain are on the same page. We have seen several controversies before when captains and coaches have not been on the same page. In Suryakumar Yadav’s case, he has worked with Gautam Gambhir before, and they knew each other really well. In Shreyas Iyer’s case, he has worked a lot with Ricky Ponting. So, now it should not happen that one person is saying North Pole, and the other is saying South Pole. If they don’t think in a similar fashion, it will be really difficult to get the results,” Mohit Sharma said on Cricbuzz.