Gautam Gambhir’s coaching journey hasn’t begun as he or Indian cricket fans had hoped. Gambhir took charge of the Indian team after a title-winning stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, but as head coach, he’s faced an ODI series loss in Sri Lanka and a 0-3 Test defeat at home against New Zealand.
Now with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) tightening its stance on poor performances, Gambhir faces a crucial Test series against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy—his biggest challenge yet to retain his role as head coach in Test cricket.
Reports suggest that Gambhir’s position as Test coach might be on the line if India struggles in Australia. While the BCCI plans to keep him as the white-ball coach – a poor showing against Australia could push the board to replace him in red-ball cricket.
As per Dainik Jagran, if the team doesn’t perform well, the BCCI may consider bringing in a specialist like VVS Laxman for Test coaching, with Gambhir staying on only for ODIs and T20Is. It’s unclear if Gambhir would accept such a shift. If the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is closely contested, the BCCI might have a challenging decision to make.
Gambhir recently met with BCCI selection committee head Ajit Agarkar and India’s captains, Rohit Sharma for ODIs and Tests, in an intense 6-hour meeting on Friday. They discussed India’s 0-3 Test loss to New Zealand at home and examined the issues behind the defeat.
There are also reports of disagreements between Gambhir and the team’s think-tank over certain decisions, particularly around team selection. These differences could impact the team’s preparation and unity ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India squad for BGT 2024-25: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
