Gautam Gambhir under scrutiny as India prepare for T20 World Cup

BCCI is weighing Gautam Gambhir’s future as India’s Test coach after the South Africa series defeat. An informal approach was made to VVS Laxman, who declined. Gambhir’s contract runs till 2027, but split coaching could be considered after the T20 World Cup

jaipur: Gautam Gambhir’s record as India’s white ball coach has been impressive with an ICC and ACC trophy in each format, but with 10 Test defeats against SENA countries, the same cannot be said about his red ball record.

It is understood that right after India’s surrender against South Africa in the two-Test series at home last month, someone in the cricket board informally approached VVS Laxman to check if he would be interested in coaching the red ball team. However, it is learnt that the legendary batter is happy being the Head of Cricket at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

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While Gambhir’s contract with the BCCI runs until the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup, there is every possibility that it could be revisited depending on India’s performance in the T20 World Cup which begins in five weeks. In BCCI corridors, the jury is still out on whether Gambhir is the right person to remain at the helm of the red ball team for the remaining nine Tests of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle.

Having drawn 2-2 in a five-Test away series in England, India have upcoming overseas assignments comprising two Tests each against Sri Lanka in August 2026 and New Zealand in October, before hosting Australia for a five-Test series in January-February 2027.

“Gambhir does have strong backing within the power corridors of Indian cricket and obviously, if India retain the T20 World Cup or at least reach the final, he would seamlessly continue with his assignment. However, it would be interesting if Gambhir continues in Tests too,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.

“His advantage is that there aren’t too many alternate options in the red ball format since VVS Laxman isn’t interested in coaching the senior Test team,” the source added.

The Indian dressing room nowadays is a confused arena, with many players not feeling secure in the Gambhir regime unlike the Rahul Dravid era, when roles were clearly defined. During Dravid’s three-year tenure, players also got a long rope to prove their mettle.

Shubman Gill’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad had Gambhir’s footprints written all over it, making many players believe that if Indian cricket’s next poster boy could be dropped, anyone could face the axe.

The BCCI usually takes its time with policy decisions. After the T20 World Cup, there will be two months of the Indian Premier League, giving decision-makers enough time to consider split coaching or a single coach across formats, after analysing India’s performance at the global meet.

The next two months will be very interesting for ‘Guru Gambhir’, even if he has strong backers in the BCCI.