Gautam Gambhir took over as India's head coach from Rahul Dravid in July 2024.
Former India spinner Murali Kartik said that criticism from fans and pundits is simply part of the sport, and that head coach Gautam Gambhir has no choice but to deal with it rather than hoping it will change.
After the recent T20I series win over New Zealand, the former batter had lamented how people's opinions tend to be result-oriented instead of considering the process or the bigger picture.
The Indian team had arrived in New Zealand shortly after a 2-2 drawn T20I series against the West Indies at home. Because of the congested schedule, the Shreyas Iyer-led side faced the task of adapting to the conditions almost right away.
When India suffered a defeat by seven wickets in the fifth T20I match despite having won the series, Gautam Gambhir addressed the media and expressed his views on why people are unable to see things from a realistic perspective.
“If we hadn't won this series, no one would have talked about one practice session. Then everyone would have said, ‘Oh, how poor is this Indian team that everything has gone wrong after the World Cup?'. That's the reality. It's no secret that in India, people see only results, nothing else,” Gautam Gambhir said after India's T20I series win over New Zealand.
Murali Kartik advised that Gautam Gambhir should not take people's opinions too seriously, as long as he is satisfied with his intentions as head coach.
“Unfortunately, that is what you signed up for, and that is what you will get. Sometimes you need to have a very thick skin. Create a skin where nothing hits you. You have to become that sort of person. What social media has done, where anyone can say anything, unfortunately, is what will happen. You have to insulate yourself from all of that and look at your own intentions. As a coach, you can only look at your intentions, and that is all that matters,” Murali Kartik said on Cricbuzz.
India and New Zealand are currently engaged in a five-ODI series, with Shubman Gill and co. having won the first two games, while the third ODI was washed out due to rain.
On the other hand, Ambati Rayudu, a former Indian batsman, has complimented head coach Gautam Gambhir for his efforts to change the Indian team’s culture from superstar-oriented to team-oriented.
“I think he is the only coach to work with 4 captains in such a short span of time. He has not had a settled side with him. It is a side in transition, and one great thing about Gautam Gambhir that I have felt, results aside, is his importance to the front of the jersey rather than the back of the jersey. The back of the jersey sells a lot of jerseys at the moment. But going forward, he wants the front of the jersey to have the utmost importance in Indian cricket,” Ambati Rayudu said.
Gambhir has already built a solid coaching resume with India after winning the T20 World Cup 2026 and the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy in 2025.