NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir reckons that playing international cricket is not a prerequisite to become a successful T20 batting coach, whose job according to the former India opener is to help players cultivate a positive mindset.
The cricketer-turned-politician said that a batting coach can be appointed exclusively for the shortest format of the game.
"Probably you can just have a different T20 batting coach, just for that particular format. It is really not true that someone who hasn't played international cricket or who hasn't played enough cricket, can't become a successful coach," Gambhir said on Star Sports' show 'Cricket Connected'.
"What ultimately a coach does in a T20 format is frees your mindset and feeds your mindset and make you hit those goals and those big shots," he added.
The World-Cup winning opener said that job of the batting coach in T20 cricket is not to teach how to hit shots.
"No one teaches you how to hit a lap shot or a reverse lap shot, no coach can do that. If someone is trying to do that to a player, he is harming him more than actually making him a better player."
However, Gambhir is of the opinion that being a successful player helps become a better selector.
"It's not important that you have played a lot of cricket, for you to be a very successful coach - probably, that's right for a selector, but not for a coach."