Iceland Cricket took a sarcastic dig at Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir on social media after the team’s disappointing defeat in the T20 series against Ireland. The defending T20 World Cup champions suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Belfast, sparking widespread reactions from the cricket world.
Shreyas Iyer’s side lost the opening T20I by 34 runs before suffering a one-run defeat in the second match in Belfast on Sunday, June 28. Tilak Verma scored 55 off 46 balls, but Jai Mundhra and Matthew Hollard shared six wickets each to restrict India to 153/9 and complete a series win for Ireland.
Takes a truly remarkable gift – Iceland Cricket trolls Gautam Gambhir
After India’s 2-0 T20I series loss to Ireland, Iceland Cricket made fun of head coach Gautam Gambhir with a sarcastic post on Instagram. The post quickly went viral as fans reacted to India’s disappointing performance in Belfast.
“We can confirm that we do not wish to add Gautam Gambhir to our coaching staff. Although he clearly has the talent. It takes a truly remarkable gift to take those Indian players and deliver those results in Ireland.”
We can confirm that we do not want to include Gautam Gambhir in our coaching staff. However, he clearly has talent. It takes a truly remarkable gift to take those Indian players and deliver those results in Ireland.
– Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) June 28, 2026
Fans took to social media to criticize Team India for their disappointing T20 series loss to Ireland and described the performance as “disgraceful”.
Reactions on social media to Iceland Cricket’s jibe at Gautam Gambhir
The post quickly went viral on Instagram, where fans reacted with mixed opinions. Many praised Iceland Cricket’s satire following India’s shocking series defeat to Ireland, calling it cruel and clever trolling.
Some fans blamed Gautam Gambhir’s team selection and tactical decisions for the disappointing result. Others questioned the decision of sticking with the same opening pair and leaving Vaibhav Suryavanshi out of the playing eleven.
However, many supporters came to Gambhir’s defence. He pointed out that he recently led India to success in the T20 World Cup and urged Iceland Cricket to focus on their cricket instead of trolling the India head coach.
India will now focus its attention on the five-match T20 series against England. Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer will be under pressure to improve the team’s performance after the disappointing Ireland tour and avoid another overseas shock.
India’s defeat has increased the pressure on Gautam Gambhir before the England tour.
Before this tour, India had won all their last eight T20 matches against Ireland. The 2-0 defeat ended India’s streak of 16 consecutive bilateral T20 series wins. This was also their first bilateral T20I series defeat since the 2023 West Indies tour and their first T20I series whitewash since 2018–19.
Between those two whitewashes, India played 41 bilateral T20 series, winning 33 and drawing three. The team will now have to improve its batting and review the team selection before the five-match T20 series against England.
Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach since taking over in 2024 has seen both failures and successes. His first white-ball assignment ended with a series defeat to Sri Lanka. India then suffered a 0-3 home Test series defeat to New Zealand, ending a home unbeaten streak of over 12 years.
India also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and home series against South Africa and New Zealand. However, Gambhir led the team to the Champions Trophy and 2025 Asia Cup title. He led a young Test team to a 2-2 series draw in England and helped India win the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Before the Ireland series, India had won every bilateral T20 series under Gambhir, defeating Sri Lanka (3-0), Bangladesh (3-0), South Africa (3-1), England (4-1), Australia (2-1) and New Zealand (4-1).
