Gambhir's 'prickly' style of coaching 'not great fit' for Indian team: Tim Paine

Melbourne: Gautam Gambhir's "prickly" coaching style may not bode well for the Indian team, and it could be a "long summer" if they fail to start strong in the Perth Test on November 22, warns former Australian captain Tim Paine.

Jolted by an unprecedented 0-3 home series loss to New Zealand, the Gambhir-coached side now face the daunting task of defending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in a five-match series against Australia, starting with the Perth Test.

“Their last two series wins out here they had Ravi Shastri who was fantastic. He created a great environment, the players were energised, they played with passion, he sold them the dream and motivated them in a really light-hearted enjoyable way," Paine said on SEN Radio.

“They (India) have gone to a new coach now that is really prickly, really competitive -- and that not to say that’s not a good thing and a good way to coach -- but my concern is that it’s not a great fit for the Indian cricket team.

“If your coach is the first one to crack in a press conference after being asked a simple question, it could be a really long summer for Gautam Gambhir if India don’t get off to a good start on Perth.” Paine's comments stemmed from a recent media interaction where Gambhir took issue with Ricky Ponting's remarks on Virat Kohli’s struggling form, saying that the Australian legend need not be concerned about Indian cricket.

Ponting, in turn, described Gambhir "quite a prickly character".

'Gambhir, India's biggest concern'

Paine felt Gambhir's barb was a sign that he may not be able to stay calm under pressure which would be India's "biggest concern" -- even more than the struggling form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

“I don’t love it. It’s not a good sign I think, because all he was asked was a very simple question. I think he’s maybe looking at Ricky still as someone he’s playing against," Paine said.

"But Ricky is a commentator now -- he’s paid to give an opinion, and his opinion was spot on. Virat has been sliding, it is a concern, absolutely.

“But for me now, the biggest concern for India right now isn’t Rohit Sharma’s batting, isn’t Virat Kohli’s batting, it’s their coach and his ability to stay calm under pressure,” he added.