When Mohammad Kaif and Zaheer Khan were asked to rate Team India coach Gautam Gambhir, clarity and communication emerged as the two main themes. Both former India cricketers mentioned that the current coaching setup led by Gambhir needs to maintain better communication between the players so that everyone in the team is aware of their roles.
Ever since Gautam Gambhir took charge of the India national cricket team as head coach, there has been a lot of reshuffle in the teams across formats. The management is still following the same pattern, which often raises doubts over the communication between the players and the coaches and management.
Mohammad Kaif gave 4/10 rating to Gautam Gambhir
Mohammad Kaif gave only 4 out of 10 to the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management as he felt there was a lack of clarity and communication inside the team. Before India vs England 1st ODI, reports were suggesting that Gambhir and Virat Kohli were not on talking terms.
Kaif said that the possible distance between the batsman and the head coach is not an ideal advertisement for the team. The former India batsman referred to Sanju Samson’s situation to strengthen his opinion. Samson was in the playing combination during the India vs England T20I series to make room for Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Three games later, Samson again returned to the playing eleven and Vaibhav Suryavanshi was dropped.
“We are hearing that Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are not coming forward. We are not able to see the pitch. We are not able to see whether they are talking or not. We have seen with Rohit Sharma that Gautam Gambhir is talking in practice,” Mohammad Kaif said during a Cricbuzz discussion panel.
He said, “The job of the coaches is that if the players are not happy with their performance, if they are not treated well, if they are not happy, we are talking about Samson; he was dropped, or Suryavanshi was dropped. That is the job of the coach… So, the job of all of them is to maintain transparency, maintain communication.”
Zaheer Khan gave 6/10 rating to Gautam Gambhir
Zaheer Khan was not as vocal as Kaif was. While Kaif gave Gambhir a rating of 4, Zaheer Khan gave the coach a rating of 6 out of ten due to the success the team got during the 2026 World Cup under his coaching.
Zaheer Khan said, “Look, under his leadership they have won the World Cup. Yes, they have won the World Cup. By defending. By creating such an environment in home conditions, you have also achieved that. So, your highs are also good. So, I think I will give such six numbers.”
Things are still in progress: Zaheer Khan
Like Kaif, Zaheer also believed that there should be more clarity and better communication between the players and the coach within the team. According to the former fast bowler, the era of communication and clarity is going on in Indian cricket.
Zaheer Khan said, “As far as the question of reforms, as far as the question of transparency, as far as the question of stability that we were talking about, the question of communication, you can say that all those things are going on now. Or you can say concern.”
Big statement- Rate Gautam Gambhir
Kaif’s rating: 4/10
“Transparency is needed. The coach should keep everyone on the same page and clearly communicate with the players why they were dropped or dropped (like Samson’s situation). In the old days, John Wright and Sourav Ganguly…– Sunil Gavaskar (@virender_swag) July 15, 2026
