For a few months now, Gautam Gambhir has been portrayed as the villain of Indian cricket, being blamed for the Test cricket exit of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The Indian head coach has been held responsible for every possible misstep in Indian cricket and the decisions to retire from Test cricket and make domestic cricket compulsory have been attributed to him. There is a rumor that, regardless of the recent performances in Test and ODI which have been below par, Gambhir is still rooting for the exit of Kohli and Rohit from the Indian team
Gambhir has consistently maintained that the 2027 World Cup is two years away and no one is guaranteed a spot, while referring to Rohit and Kohli. Although this is true of everyone, internet trolls and haters have simply connected the dots in the way that they want to. Consequently, Gambhir indirectly brought up the matter in a social media post and spoke without mentioning names
“When the dust settles, truth & logic about a coach’s supposedly ‘unlimited authority’ will become clear. Till then, I’m amused at being pitted against my own who are the very best,” Gambhir shared on X in reply to a post by Shashi Tharoor.
Gambhir has faced a flood of criticism from various quarters. To put one example, he was called the “worst coach since Greg Chappell” among other things. His memes on social media, which depict him as the subject of ridicule, are also included in this. It is no surprise that his eccentric methods and peculiar team combinations that have not yielded good results have attracted criticism. At a recent meeting with Gambhir, Congress MP Tharoor spoke in his defense against the critics by saying he has the toughest job in India after the PM.
“My old buddy Gautam Gambhir, the man with the hardest job in India after the PM’s! In Nagpur, enjoyed a good & frank discussion with him. He is being second-guessed by millions daily but stays calm &walks on undaunted. The quiet determination and able leadership deserve a word of appreciation. Wishing him all success — starting today!” Shashi Tharoor published on social media.
There are simply too many rumors going on about Gambhir’s hold with former Indian captain Rohit Sharma. Their relations are so bad that a PTI report states they did not talk to each other even in the same practice session. It has been reported by Dainik Jagran that during the team’s ODI tour to Australia in October both the players had completely stopped communicating. Some are firmly convinced that the equation between Gambhir and Kohli has also drastically changed. The laughing and smiling has been replaced by minimal conversation which is quick but direct.