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Calls and ultimatums to sack Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir from the red-ball cricket post have been mounting since the humiliating whitewash of India by the South Africans on their own soil after 25 years. India also dropped to sixth position in the WTC cycle, the worst under any previous coach.
The buzz around Gautam Gambhir’s dismissal from the role of Indian head coach grew with time as India’s place in the WTC cycle seemed to slip out of the grip of Gautam Gambhir who continued to be the red-ball coach for India.
India are currently ranked sixth in the World Test Championship points table and have already lost 4 matches out of the 9 matches they have played in this cycle. If India loses more matches, it will be very difficult for them to move up to the top two positions.
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Gautam Gambhir’s poor spell in red-ball cricket continues
Gambhir took over the reins of the Indian team from head coach Rahul Dravid after his retirement following the T20 World Cup triumph in 2024. Almost two years have passed and Gambhir has not yet been able to become the ideal coach for India.
Under the Gambhir era, India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 within 6 months of his appointment and became an invincible team in T20s. But what about the longest format of the game?
Starting with a humiliating 3-0 win over New Zealand at home, this ended India’s long winning streak at home. Then, the men in baggy blue lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to the Australians for the first time since 2018.
Gambhir’s Test antics snubbed India from a third consecutive entry into the 2025 WTC final. Although the England tour saw some positives, Gambhir was nonetheless criticized for his controversial moves, and one of them was ace Pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s constant workload management.
After a 2-2 draw in England and a 2-0 win over West Indies at home, Gambhir was once again criticized by reigning WTC champions South Africa. After South Africa’s whitewash, Gambhir received threats and was exposed to public booing and humiliation.
Gautam Gambhir to remain India coach until 2027 World Cup
The Indian crowd has never been so cruel to any Indian coach or even any Indian player before, despite their weaker patches, but this time it was surely something very different.
Many claims have been made for Gambhir’s sacking as India’s red-ball coach and the appointment of another coach in the format, while Gambhir continues with limited-overs cricket. The idea of split coaching, however, did not sit well with the BCCI.
The narrative of the end of the BCCI, as reported by Dainik Jagran journalist Abhishek Tripathi, seems to indicate that no change is going to happen now. The idea seems good and effective, but Gautam Gambhir will stay until the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The idea of having separate coaches for the red ball and the white ball is brilliant. However, Gautam Gambhir will remain the coach of the Indian team until the 2027 World Cup. There will be no changes at the moment.#IndianCricket
– Abhishek Tripathi / Abhishek Tripathi (@abhisheraport) December 29, 2025
Will Gambhir and co. do you manage to defend the ICC T20 World Cup title?
Gautam Gambhir coached India and led the unbeaten streak in the bilateral T20I series. However, his biggest challenge would be to continue his momentum in the T20 World Cup because once the knockout stages arrive, the chances would not come again.
The Indian team, for the first time in around fifteen years, will play an ICC tournament without its two veterans, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Although the bowling will remain the same as the 2024 World Cup winning team, the batters will have to put in constant work at the top.
India is the host and defending champion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, and hence, a lot is expected from the players as well as the national coach.
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