Gautam Gambhir slammed Parth Jindal over his social media post suggesting split coaching.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir hit back at his critics in the press conference last Saturday (December 6), following the team’s 2-1 win over South Africa in the ODI series.
The ODI series victory came after India suffered a humiliating 0-2 whitewash at the hands of South Africa in the home Test series.
Subsequently, calls for Gambhir’s sacking as Test coach grew louder. Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal also joined the bandwagon and the urged the BCCI to appoint a specialist coach for India's Test side.
While India’s white-ball side has performed exceptionally well under Gambhir, producing trophies and strong win-loss records, that success has not translated to the traditional format.
With Gambhir at the helm, India won seven, lost 10 and drew two of their 19 Tests so far, which includes a 0-3 series sweep against New Zealand at home. The team also conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 in Australia. The only Test series wins under Gambhir's tenure have come against Bangladesh and the West Indies at home.
However, Gautam Gambhir launched a scathing attack on the IPL team owner for suggesting split coaching for red and white-ball teams. His outburst came after India hammered South Africa in the Vizag ODI by nine wickets to clinch series.
“An IPL team owner (Parth Jindal) also wrote about split coaching. So, this is a surprising thing. It is very important for people to stay in their domain. Because if we don't go into someone's domain, then they also don't have any right to come into our domain,” Gambhir said in the presser.
Meanwhile, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has cautioned Gambhir against making such statement, saying that it could invite criticism in the future if India slip up again.
“Gautam came and he was very fiery. You expect that with Gautam. When he comes to press conferences, he speaks his heart out. I have a suggestion for Gautam. When you come so fiery, and when you go after an individual or something, people then start waiting for Gautam to fail. At times, it seems like you are setting yourself up for this kind of criticism,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“It cannot be his (Gambhir’s) mistake only when the team loses. One thing is certain with Gautam. His heart is at the right place, and he is a very passionate guy. He is always ready to fight for the country and the country’s team. My only suggestion is don’t fight. You have to please nobody. Don’t pick up so many fights,” he added.
According to Chopra, Gambhir’s tirade at Parth Jindal’s remark on India’s Test defeat was unnecessary.
“He said if you don’t have the domain expertise, don’t talk about it. I felt it was slightly unnecessary. However, sometimes we fail to understand the undercurrents behind it. I am not trying to defend him. However, at times, you feel bad about someone because you know that guy’s opinion about you had been different earlier as well, so let me just fire it back,” Chopra stated.
“That might have been the case with that one person. Otherwise, I don’t think there is merit in this argument that you don’t need to speak about something if you are not the domain expert. Just like the incredible thing Indigo has done. I am not an aviation expert, but I can talk. I don’t think someone doesn’t have a moral right to talk. However, that one thing might have had a slightly deeper, bigger meaning,” he remarked.