India head coach Gautam Gambhir has come under severe criticism after the team’s humiliating whitewash in the recently held Test series against New Zealand at home.
The Rohit Sharma-led side lost the three consecutive Test matches in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. This outcome also marked the end of their remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories.
Gambhir was named the chief coach after Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended with the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in June. The former opener was appointed with a lot of expectations as he mentored KKR to the IPL title earlier this year.
His stint with the Men in Blue began on a bitter-sweet note as India won the T20I series 3-0 and lost the ODIs 0-2 on the tour of Sri Lanka.
In the wake of slumping performances, Gambhir finds himself in a tough spot. In fact, there are several reports claiming that he might be sacked as Test coach if the Indian team underperforms in the upcoming tour Down Under.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also believes that the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia is really important for Gautam Gambhir.
However, Harbhajan finds it unfair to put the entire blame on Gambhir for the series loss against the Kiwis.
"Ever since Gautam has become the coach, he has not gone out there to bat, neither he has gone out to bowl. Suddenly he has become the coach and the results have gone down. The entire blame is being pinned on Gautam Gambhir," Harbhajan told Jatin Sapru on the latter's YouTube channel.
"He has not batted or bowled, the blame cannot be put on him. Your plan was to have turners, and the plan backfired. Knowing him, I think he has his heart in the right place. He always thinks about the team, it is way too early for us to judge him. Give him time. It is not easy to run big teams," he added.
According to Harbhajan, the upcoming five-match series against Australia will be a test of Gambhir's patience and anger as well.
"It is difficult to run big teams, everyone takes time. If the results were fine, everyone would have said 'see, Gautam is making the team win'. The series against Australia is important, a lot of things will be tested. Gautam Gambhir who will be sitting outside, his anger and patience will be tested," said Harbhajan.
"He cannot control anything from the outside, big players get frustrated sitting on the sidelines. This Test, Gambhir needs to pass. The tour is very important for Gambhir. In this country, everyone has an opinion. Gautam Gambhir must be feeling low, he is on the radar. If the series doesn't go well, Gambhir will be at the receiving end. I want him to stay calm and for the team to perform well," he further remarked.
Recently, Gautam Gambhir came under the scanner for his fiery response to Australian legend Ricky Ponting’s comments on the decline of star batter Virat Kohli.
Commenting on Kohli’s extended lean patch, Ponting had suggested that any other player with only two centuries in five years would not have survived in the team.
Subsequently, Gambhir termed Ponting's opinions on Indian cricket irrelevant and also asked the former Australian skipper to focus on Australian players.
“What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket? He should think about Australian cricket. I don't have any concerns. They (Kohli and Rohit) are incredibly tough men; they've achieved a lot for Indian cricket and are going to achieve a lot in future as well," Gambhir had said during an interaction with media before leaving for Australia.
