Former cricketer Atul Wassan has launched a blistering attack on India head coach Gautam Gambhir, claiming his aggressive "bully" personality and "my way or the highway" approach have caused unrest, insecurity, and dissatisfaction among players in the dressing room.
Wassan, who formerly served as a Delhi selector, has a long-standing history with Gambhir, dating back to when Gambhir was removed from the Delhi captaincy.
Speaking on Vickey Lalwani's YouTube show, Wassan minced no words as he stated that Gambhir's ego is on a different level, and his habitual over-aggressiveness also led to his clash with Virat Kohli.
"I have known him personally since he was a child. I have had my issues with him. With him, it's about my way or the highway. He is like that, and he would bully a lot, even in Delhi cricket. His nature is only like that. From the start, he was from money, that nature only, an excellent player, and he is intelligent. His ego is on a different level. He thinks that if he says it's night when it's morning, it will be believed to be night. Fall in line. If you don't fall in line, you are on my hit list. He will try to harm you, but he has achieved a lot in cricket, and his nature helped him in cricket," Wassan said.
"The player he became is because of his nature. He couldn't give his best unless he fights. He probably goes and fights with the glass in his home. He likes putting him in the mood. But he doesn't retire; he needs to get off this horse. He thinks this still drives him. That's why he is confronting Kohli: over-aggressiveness and an alpha-male kind of personality from Delhi. He has lost and has also won also. His report card has blemishes. The home series that we have lost, two or three. There’s still time to evaluate his record," he added.
Gautam Gambhir took over as India head coach in July 2024. Since then, he has guided India to two ICC titles - Champions Trophy 2025 and T20 World Cup 2026 - the most by any coach in history of Indian cricket. The teams also clinched the Asia Cup under his coaching last tear.
However, the white-ball success has not translated to the traditional 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.
Despite the unprecedented success in white-ball cricket, Wassan alleged that some players in the Indian team are unhappy with Gambhir's management.
"I am sure that all the players cannot be in a happy place. Somebody will be sleeping on needles; this happens. Personal likes and dislikes, and that too with such a strong personality. With personal likes and dislikes, and leading them with a stick, if you keep on winning, then it's fine. But if you lose, then you need to listen to criticism," Wassan said, but refrained from taking any player’s name.
"I know 1-2 of them; they won't say it openly. I can't say their names in this show. Everyone knows whats happening. But after sidelining those 2-4 players, if you win, then it's your world. It's a team sport; nobody will listen to the player. If the coach wins even after all this, then the coach is right, and the player is wrong," he remarked.
