Sunil Gavaskar, a former Indian cricketer, has come out in defence of Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, despite mounting criticism of the latter following India’s Test series loss to South Africa. Gambhir’s third Test series defeat was against South Africa.
Sunil Gavaskar believed that the players, not the coach, were responsible for their performance on the pitch.
He questioned Gambhir’s critics on why the former left-handed hitter had not received due recognition for his subsequent title wins.
“A coach can prepare you, guide you, share all his experience, but once you step on those 22 yards, it’s the players who have to deliver. If you didn’t give Gambhir credit for the 2025 Champions Trophy win or the 2025 Asia Cup triumph, why blame him now? You can’t ignore the wins and only react to the losses,” stated Gavaskar during an interaction with India Today.
There is a lot of discussion on social media about Gambhir’s coaching position. The cricket fraternity, particularly Indian cricket fans, have pulled the World Cup-winning member apart on social media for how India’s Test dominance at home has declined under his leadership.
India lost the first Test against South Africa by 30 runs at Eden Gardens. Temba Bavuma‘s team won a low-scoring contest.
The second Test in Guwahati was a case of total domination by the tourists. They gave India a 408-run pounding to beat India in a Test series in India after a span of 25 years while breaking several other records as well.
The Men in Blue will now take on the South Africans in three ODIs which will be followed by five T20Is. The all-format series, which got underway on November 14, will conclude on December 19. It remains to be seen what the decision in relation to Gambhir will be once the series ends.
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