Gautam Gambhir is a manager, not a coach: Kapil Dev

Kolkata: India's first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev on Thursday said a modern-day head coach's role is more about "managing" players than actually coaching them, amid criticism surrounding Gautam Gambhir's working style.

Following India's 0-2 Test series defeat to South Africa, Gambhir has come under fire as India's head coach and his ploy of constant player rotation and reliance on part-timers have been slammed.

Kapil said the term 'coach' is often misunderstood in contemporary cricket.

"Today that word called a coach... 'coach' is a very common word today. Gautam Gambhir can't be a coach. He can be a manager of the team," Kapil said at the Indian Chamber of Commerce ICC Centenary Session.

"When you say coach, coach is where I learn in the school and college. Those were the people, my coach there. They can manage me," he added.

Kapil said, "How can you be a coach when they have given a name to let's say anybody a leg spinner? How can Gautam can be a coach to a leg spinner or to the wicket-keeper?" "I think you have to manage. That's more important. As a manager you give them encouragement to say you can do it because when you become a manager the young boys look up to you," he said.

"How can my manager or captain can give me that comfort and that's what the manager and captain's job is -- to give comfort to the team and always say 'you can do better'. That's the way I look at it." Kapil said his own philosophy as captain was to back players going through a lean phase.

"I think you have to give comfort to the people who are not playing well. If somebody made a hundred I don't want to have a drink and dinner with him," he said.

"There are a lot of people there... As a captain I would like to have a drink with people or I like to have a dinner with people who are not performing.

"You need to give them the confidence and that's what happens. So I think it's very important as a captain and your role is not only your performance, it is also about putting the team together."

Gavaskar would have been best T20I batter

Kapil also said Little Master Sunil Gavaskar would have been the best T20 batter if he played in this era.

"I love everything in cricket — T20, T10, One-day, everything. I always maintain one thing more. They said Sunil Gavaskar, I said had he played during this period he would have been best player in T20 also," he said.

"The people who have a strong defence, for them hitting is much easier. Defence is difficult. So I always said remember that person who have a great defence, he can always attack because he has that much extra time." Recalling his early days, Kapil said, "I didn't know how to block. I mean I said before also Bishan Bedi paaji sent me as a night-watchman. I was a rookie, didn't know anything about cricket." Praising the city's cricket culture, he added, "Kolkata has the most knowledgeable crowd. I think Calcutta people understand the game much better than other people." Reflecting on India's historic 1983 World Cup triumph, Kapil credited belief and his Punjabi mindset for the success.

"Punjabis are basically little mad, you know... They are crazy people so they set a target in their mind," he said.

"It was my belief... when the team starts believing it changes. Captain is always mad, chairman of the company's or CEO of the company's is mad. He gives such a target but target can only be complete if the entire team starts believing. I think halfway through the tournament the team started believing, yes, we can win." Former India women's team captain Mithali Raj, who also attended the session, recalled the moment when India finally won a global title at home recently.

"It was this quiet emotion to see that 'India' engraved on that Cup... Because every time you get the photo shoot done when you qualify to play the finals you're next to the trophy and you only see Australia, England and New Zealand," Mithali said.

"I was there twice. I got to do that photo shoot and every time it was like when we should be getting 'India' there, and finally we got it." "Only when the crowd roared I knew we finally won. Winning it at home was a huge thing."