The Indian head coach’s role is the hardest job after the Prime Minister. That’s what Indian politician Shashi Tharoor said after meeting Gautam Gambhir. The knives have been out for him since his tenure commenced in July 2024.
Constant criticism of Gambhir
Whether it be for past statements, where he criticised coaches and players for doing exactly what he’s done to India’s Test whitewashes at home, or even getting blamed for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s Test retirements.
Gambhir hasn’t even been able to escape criticism. As everything is in life, some of it is justified. India hadn’t lost a Test series at home in 12 years, and under Gambhir, they’ve been whitewashed twice in 2 seasons. Recently, New Zealand claimed their first-ever ODI series win over India in India as well.
Contrary to this result-oriented criticism, Gambhir also gets some unwarranted hate. He can’t be blamed for Rohit or Kohli hanging up their boots and for Shubman Gill taking over as captain in Test and ODI cricket. You label him for showing bias after he backed Harshit Rana and then praise the Delhi cricketer for stellar performances.
Focus on the T20 World Cup
Ajinkya Rahane, India’s former captain and current Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, thinks Gambhir should stay away from social media to escape the criticism and divert all of his focus to the T20 World Cup 2026. In Rahane’s opinion, the noise won’t decrease. He’ll be aimed at irrespective. So, the best way to deal with it is to tune it out completely.
“My only response to this is that GG should probably stay away from social media. Probably not think too much about what people are saying about him or telling him. He played his cricket in a great manner, and now he’s coaching Team India, which is a very responsible job,” Rahane said on Cricbuzz.
“He should stay away from social media and focus on the team. That’s my personal opinion. Let’s just focus on the main thing: stay away from social media till the World Cup is over,” he added.
