When Gambhir Gautam was appointed as the India cricket team’s head coach, many were skeptical. Although he’d just led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to an Indian Premier League (IPL) title as their mentor, he had no coaching experience at any level. But the wind was blowing in his direction.
Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India’s head coach
Gambhir bagged the job, and things started extremely well with a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka in T20Is. But that seems to be the high point. With the T20 World Cup 2024 already in the bag, people didn’t care about T20I results but rather Test performance and ODIs leading up to the ICC Champions Trophy.
Although the 50-over format hasn’t been played much, Team India’s Test cricket results are there for everyone to see. We’ve been whitewashed at home for the first time in Test history and lost our 12-year home series winning streak. On top of that, for the first time in a decade, we have lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Gambhir’s former KKR teammate, Major Tiwary feels this was bound to happen. “See, the results are there to be seen. Results don’t lie. Numbers don’t lie. The record speaks for itself,” Tiwary told PTI.
Blame falls on BCCI?
He took aim at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for appointing someone based on their IPL performance. Gambhir wasn’t a trained coach for Rahul Dravid or any of the others who applied (WV Raman). Yet when the time came, the BCCI broke its own rule by going with a leftfield pick, and the results are for everyone to see.
“He has not been able to carry on the good work which Rahul Dravid did. It will take a lot of time for him to get on the track, or to winning ways. Because I don’t see any experience behind his coaching the Indian team. In Test cricket or in one-day series, I don’t think he has any experience of coaching to be honest.”
“I think VVS Laxman and Sairaj Bahutule… these guys were in line to be the next head coach. And these guys have been with the NCA for so many years. When Rahul Dravid was not available, the next coach was an automatic choice. So, that process was getting followed. And in between how Gambhir came in, nobody knows. So, this result is bound to happen.
“When someone who does not have any experience and he comes up and takes up the job… And knowing him, how aggressive he is as an individual in certain aspects, this result is bound to happen. The decision to appoint him as head coach, by just seeing (IPL) results, was wrong. In my opinion, it was not the right choice,” Tiwary added.
