"I have serious reservations about new coach Gautam Gambhir" - Tim Paine questions Team India head coach's attitude ahead of 2024-25 BGT

Former Australia captain Tim Paine has questioned India head coach Gautam Gambhir's attitude and temperament ahead of the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. India and Australia will begin their five-Test battle in Perth on Friday, November 22.

Team India enjoyed incredible success on their previous two Test tours of Australia with Ravi Shastri as head coach, winning both series 2-1. However, Gambhir has endured a torrid start to his stint, with the side recently suffering an embarrassing 0-3 home Test series whitewash against New Zealand.

Gambhir was also involved in a war of words with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, hitting back at his criticism of Virat Kohli.

In his column for Codesports, Paine wrote (via The Hindustan Times):

"I have serious reservations about new coach Gautam Gambhir and whether his temperament and approach suits this group of Indian players. Biting back against Ricky Ponting’s comments about Kohli betrayed a man too worried about things outside of his control and suggested that the former Indian opener is feeling the pressure after the home series loss to New Zealand."

Apart from the New Zealand loss, India lost 0-2 in the ODI series in Sri Lanka on their first tour with Gambhir as head coach.

However, the side has also enjoyed a couple of positive results with a 3-0 T20I series win over Sri Lanka and a 2-0 home Test series victory over Bangladesh.

"He emboldened his players not to be daunted despite circumstances conspiring against them" - Tim Paine hails Ravi Shastri

USA v India - ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 - Source: Getty

Tim Paine praised former India head coach Ravi Shastri for his ability to motivate the players even in dire circumstances.

During their Test series wins in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21, India overcame different challenges. With the series tied at 1-1 in 2018-19, Virat Kohli's men won the next outing in Melbourne and dominated the final Test in Sydney before settling for a draw due to bad weather.

India overcame even bigger challenges in 2020-21 after being bowled out for their lowest total of 36 in the opening Test and falling 0-1 behind. The side lost several key players but still managed to script a remarkable come-from-behind 2-1 series win.

"One of the things that I thought really helped India in those two away series wins against us was the attitude of their coach Ravi Shastri. Boisterous and seemingly carefree, he emboldened his players not to be daunted despite circumstances conspiring against them and rebound from the adversity of being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide in the first Test of 2020-21," Paine said in the same interview.

Overall, India have won their previous four bilateral Test series against the Aussies - two at home and two away. The last time Australia defeated India in a Test series was at home in 2014-15.