Lalit Modi has stood in support of India national cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir at a time when a large section of the Indian cricket fan community wants to see him resign from the post of head coach.
India recently suffered consecutive series defeats against Ireland and England across all formats before heading to Zimbabwe, where they eventually performed strongly enough to win the T20I series. The series win against Zimbabwe is India’s first win under Shreyas Iyer as captain after the 2026 T20 World Cup triumph.
Lalit Modi called Gautam Gambhir his ‘friend’
Interestingly, Gautam Gambhir is not with the team as the leader in the series against Zimbabwe, it is VVS Laxman who is currently coaching the team in a stopgap role.
Lalit Modi, in support of his ‘friend’ Gautam Gambhir, says that the extremely busy schedule throughout the year could be a reason for the team’s poor performance against Ireland and England.
Lalit Modi says changing coach will not improve performance; To improve this, BCCI needs to eliminate some less important matches like bilateral ODIs.
Lalit Modi said, “But before blaming only the coach, perhaps we should also question the people who create such punitive schedules.”
The founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) highlighted the intense schedule of the players, who represent the Indian cricket team across all formats. Lalit Modi mentioned that the players went for international fixtures only after a minor break after the long season of IPL 2026.
Coach is not a magician: Lalit Modi
Factors such as consecutive matches, varying playing conditions and inadequate time for recovery make series more challenging for cricketers.
In his ‘X’ post on July 26 he says, “Our players came through a tough IPL season and were immediately thrust into international cricket, different countries, different conditions and back-to-back series – with insufficient time to rest, recover, practice or mentally reset. Players are not machines. Coaches are not magicians.”
Modi asked the BCCI to reduce the workload on players and coaches by cutting some fixtures, with the IPL being the centerpiece of the puzzle.
The post reads, “The IPL must remain the priority and centerpiece of the cricket calendar. ICC tournaments and meaningful Test cricket must be preserved. Bilateral series must be selective, competitive and commercially relevant. Redundant one-day series that add little more than television inventory must be scrapped.”
Lalit Modi asked BCCI to end some ODI matches
Further in the post, Modi said that it would be wrong to judge Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the team just on the basis of a few bad results. It should be allowed to continue for one complete cycle to evaluate its performance.
Lalit Modi believes, “Gautam should be evaluated throughout the cycle, not condemned after one poor decision. Review the cricketing decisions – but also review the calendar, travel, recovery period and the workload placed on our players.”
There is no coach calendar.
Gautam Gambhir is a dear friend, but my support for him today is not based on friendship. This is based on fairness, experience and common knowledge of cricket.
Indian cricket has developed a dangerous habit: celebrate when people win, then watch… pic.twitter.com/SETjRbH2SQ
– Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) July 26, 2026
