Gautam Gambhir’s position as India’s head coach across all formats is already in question and now former spinner Harbhajan Singh has added fuel to the fire. India’s recent Test record under Gambhir has been underwhelming, and now there has been a growing demand to sack the coach from the post of red-ball coach.
Crumbling Test fort: Gambhir’s biggest failure
In the last two years, India have suffered two painful home whitewashes under Gambhir’s leadership. First there was the shocking 0-3 defeat against New Zealand in 2024, followed by another shock when South Africa defeated India 0-2 at home last year.
New Zealand’s elimination was particularly damaging as it eliminated India from the race for the ICC World Test Championship 2025 final. Now, the recent Test whitewash against South Africa has deepened the crisis.
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India’s chances of making it to the next World Test Championship final are now in jeopardy and will largely depend on the outcome of the upcoming Test series. However, under Gambhir’s leadership, the Men in Blue won the Asia Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy last year.
Harbhajan Singh gave verdict on Gautam Gambhir
Harbhajan Singh has thrown his support behind the growing demand to remove Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian cricket team across all formats. In a bold statement, Harbhajan cited the team’s alarming decline in Test cricket but urged the BCCI to avoid “tough, emotional decisions” and respect Gambhir’s legacy as a player.
The former World Cup winner has revealed that coaching India is one of the toughest jobs in world cricket. He also pointed out that when India wins, people forget to give credit to the coach, but when the team loses, the blame is almost always placed on him.
ANI quoted Harbhajan Singh as saying, “It is not so easy to become an India coach. To become a coach, you have to travel with the team throughout the year and keep yourself involved in the game. You have to be more busy because there are many teams to be selected, and you also need to focus on the results of the match. In India, it is our tradition that if the team plays well, everyone becomes calm, but as soon as the team plays poorly, we would come over to coach.” Are.”
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“A coach doesn’t play”: Harbhajan’s warning and the way forward
However, Harbhajan defended Gautam Gambhir, insisting that failures on the field should not overshadow his great playing career. On the hot topic of divided coaching roles, the former Indian spinner suggested a wait-and-see approach as sudden decisions could do more harm than good.
Harbhajan said, “Gautam Gambhir doesn’t go there to play. When he was playing, he played well. He played very well for India. Everyone needs to be patient. If you feel you need to split the coaching, like adopting a white ball and a red ball policy, then there is no need to do that right now. But with time, if the need arises, you must do that. There is nothing wrong in that.”
