New Delhi: Since being appointed as India’s head coach in July 2024, Gautam Gambhir has been on a rollercoaster ride. In just over 16 months, Gambhir has had his fair share of ups and downs. From the white-ball highs of ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup triumphs to the red-ball lows of home whitewashes against New Zealand and South Africa, Gambhir has perhaps experienced more lows than highs.
More recently, the former Indian opener has faced severe criticism after the team comprehensively lost the Test series against the Proteas 0-2 last month, which extended a dismal run of five losses in the previous seven Tests
Gambhir’s decision-making, team selection, tactical moves and coaching pedigree have come under massive scrutiny, especially at home.
However, amidst the massive backlash, Gambhir has found support from Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who hailed his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor as the “best coach” that he has played under.
Gurbaz shocked by criticism of Gambhir
Gurbaz, a key contributor to KKR’s trophy-winning season in 2024, is shocked by the kind of criticism levelled at Gambhir in recent weeks and feels that this outrage against his “Gautam sir” doesn’t make sense.
“If 1.4 billion people are there in your country, you can say 2-3 million will be against him. The rest are with Gautam sir and with India team. It doesn’t make sense to talk about them,” Gurbaz told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the fourth season of the ILT20 here.
“He’s the best ever coach and human being, mentor that I have had in my career so far. I love the way he goes about things,” the 24-year-old Afghanistan opener added.
Gurbaz pointed out India’s success under Gambhir, a point the head coach himself made after the series loss against South Africa.
“India just won the Champions Trophy in ODI format, Asia Cup in T20 format. They have won a lot of series, so you can’t blame them for one series.”
Gurbaz also touched upon the positive traits of Gambhir, which helped KKR cricketers to play in a relaxed, pressure-free environment.
“I love the way he goes about his job. When you have a good environment, you will always be on the top. He made the environment very easy for us, nothing stressful, nothing strict… and that’s why we won the tournament,” he said.
“He is not strict but he is disciplined. He is strict only when something goes against discipline.”
After the second home whitewash in the last three Test series, Gambhir needs positive results in the ongoing white-ball leg against South Africa to relieve some pressure off himself.
India started off the ODI series with a 17-run win in Ranchi.
(With PTI Inputs)