Shreyas Iyer Speaks On His Relationship With Gautam Gambhir After India Takeover

Shreyas Iyer speaks about his relations with Gautam Gambhir [Source: shreyasiyer96/instagram.com]A lot has been said about Gautam Gambhir’s man-management skills since he took over as India’s head coach. While alleged tensions with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have often dominated the discussion, captain Shreyas Iyer has openly praised Gambhir’s coaching.India is all set to take on Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, starting on September 13. Interestingly, they are going with a full-strength team, led by Shreyas Iyer, who appeared before the press today and revealed his thoughts on Gambhir.Shreyas Iyer spills beans on relationship with Gautam GambhirShreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir go way back to their Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) days, when Gambhir had famously handed over the captaincy to Iyer in the middle of the 2018 season.Later in Iyer’s IPL career, his path crossed with Gambhir again when he was named Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain, with Gambhir serving as the team’s mentor. After KKR won IPL 2024, many felt that Gambhir received much of the credit, leaving Iyer overshadowed.Now that Iyer has become India’s T20I captain under Gambhir’s coaching, he has spoken highly of Gambhir’s coaching style and looked back at their time together at KKR.“He is aggressive and wants to win every time we get onto the field. “I’ve worked with him in the past at KKR, so I definitely know how his mind works and how his approach is going to be,” he revealed.Also Read: No Sanju Samson? India Predicted Playing XI vs Afghanistan- 1st T20I, 2026Captain Iyer praises Gambhir’s man-managementFollowing a torrid start to his tenure as India’s captain, the 31-year-old feels that the former India opener excels at instilling confidence in the team.Furthermore, amid reports of strained relations with senior players, like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Iyer believes the head coach knows how to build personal relationships with members of the group and understands each player.“He builds a lot of trust and confidence within the team, and every player knows what their role is and has clarity about it,” Shreyas Iyer told the press.“He has an amazing one-on-one player management approach. That is essential going forward in the tournament when you have that kind of relationship with every player, because all of us are different in our own ways and you need to understand each player,” he added.Indian Captains and their relationship with Gautam GambhirIt is worthy to note that since Gambhir has joined the Indian team as the head coach, all the captains he has worked with have sung praises of his coaching style.Before Shreyas Iyer took over, the T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav is among the most vocal supporters of Gambhir’s coaching. He had also shared a KKR bond with Gambhir from the mid-2010s, when Suryakumar Yadav was Gambhir’s deputy in the team.Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill commended Gambhir’s clear and direct communication style, along with the strong backing he provides to his players. Rohit Sharma echoed similar sentiments during his early days working with Gautam Gambhir.Also Read: Shreyas Iyer Reveals Ishan Kishan's Fate For IND vs AFG T20Is After Injury