Things haven’t been placed in a great shape as the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, perhaps hoped they would be. He had a tremendous start in his coaching tenure with the 3-0 clean sweep against Sri Lanka in the T20I series, as there was a huge responsibility on his shoulder after Rahul Dravid left the position after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean.
But straightaway after securing the T20I series win, Gautam Gambhir saw his team crumbling before the spinners on the Island, as they were handed over a 2-0 series defeat, despite having the presence of their senior members in the side. The Bangladesh series, in his first assignment at home, earned praise around his partnership with captain Rohit Sharma.
However, things went downhill when they were blown away for a 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand. The pressure is mounting over him before the beginning of the five-match red-ball series in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25.
BCCI considers this replacement of head coach Gautam Gambhir in Test matches
The recent reports have highlighted that the former opening batter, who came under the scanner to be the new head coach of the national side on the back of his brilliant mentorship to help Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) win their first title of the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the 2014 season.
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Gautam Gambhir has been decent with his coaching skills in the white-ball formats, but questions have been raised about some of his decisions in the longest format of the game.
Reports have claimed that the members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are considering handing over the white-ball responsibilities to Gambhir and will search for a new member for the Test matches.
“If it doesn’t work, he may have to let go of the Test team responsibility for the country’s sake. It is again, all speculation. We will cross the bridge when it comes.” The BCCI source expressed in an interaction with MyKhel.
Earlier, the Indian team was exploring the option of having two coaches for the white-ball and red-ball teams, but it was Gautam Gambhir himself who wanted to carry the responsibility across formats. He also wished to have his desired management for the stint.
He won’t be available with the team for their four-match T20I series in South Africa, where VVS Laxman will be taking charge of the Suryakumar Yadav-led side. The BCCI could be thinking of handing him the full power of the Test side and naming Gambhir the head coach of the limited overs format.
“If morning shows the day, this arrangement may not work as we think it should. Let him continue as the white ball team coach while the Test team could be taken care of by a stalwart like VVS Laxman.” The source claimed in the same discussion.
Also Read: Gautam Gambhir’s Coaching Stint Reviewed By Sunil Gavaskar After 0-3 Clean Sweep vs New Zealand
India will be up against Australia for the five-match red-ball series in the BGT 2024-25, where they need to grab four victories at least without conceding any defeat, to confirm their qualification for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) third cycle of 2023-25.
They will also face England in a three-match ODI series at home upon their arrival to prepare for the coming Champions Trophy 2025, which is expected to take place in Pakistan. Most of the teams around the world have opted for multiple coaches, and India could think of doing the same.