Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has called for Gautam Gambhir’s ouster as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team if the Suryakumar Yadav-led side fails to defend the T20 World Cup 2026 title in home conditions.

While India’s T20I side has been performing exceptionally well under head coach Gautam Gambhir, producing trophies and strong win-loss records, that success has not translated to the longer format.

With Gambhir at the helm, India have won seven, lost 10 and drew two of their 19 Tests so far, which includes a couple of clean sweeps against New Zealand (0-3) and South Africa (0-2) at home. The Men in Blue recently lost their first-ever home ODI series to Kiwis.

After the recent debacles, calls for Gambhir’s sacking have grown louder and Tiwary reckons that the BCCI will have to take a bold decision if India fail to live up to the expectations in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

“I think if India fail to win the T20 World Cup, then BCCI will have to take a big decision,” Tiwary said in a recent interaction with InsideSport.

“It will be a tough decision because the BCCI secretary has said that Gambhir will fulfil his contract, which is till 2027. Because there is no question about removing him. But I think if India doesn’t win the T20 World Cup, then BCCI will have to take a big call, and they will remove him," he added.

When asked to pick the ideal candidate to replace Gambhir as head coach, Tiwary took VVS Laxman’s name.

“It has to be a process-driven thing. When Rahul Dravid was India’s coach and if he used to miss any series, the natural choice was VVS Laxman. Laxman, being the head coach, has always had a good winning percentage. In my opinion, the BCCI should convince him because he is a level-headed guy, and he is a very good human being as well. He has the coaching experience as well,” he remarked.

India will enter the T20 World Cup 2026 firm favorites on the basis of their current form and also due to the tournament taking place at home.