Gautam Gambhir may now remain India’s red-ball coach, according to a BCCI source. Notably, Gambhir’s record in this format has been under constant scrutiny in recent times.
Gambhir had an exceptional tenure as India’s white-ball coach, winning the ICC Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup Trophy. These two trophies cover the 50-over and 20-over formats respectively.
However, his record in Test cricket is disappointing, with 10 defeats against SENA countries.
VVS Laxman not interested
India had a disappointing outing in the two-Test series against South Africa. After this, a senior cricket board official interviewed VVS Laxman to check if he was interested in coaching the Test team.
However, the former India batter is happy with his current role as head of cricket at the Bengaluru Center of Excellence and is not looking for a change.
Gambhir’s role in Tests uncertain
Gambhir’s contract with the BCCI runs until the 2027 ODI World Cup. There are still discussions within the BCCI over whether Gambhir should continue as Test coach for the remaining nine matches of the 2025-2027 World Test Championship cycle.
“Gambhir enjoys strong support in the corridors of power in Indian cricket and obviously if India retains the T20 World Cup or at least reaches the final, he would continue his mission without any problem. However, it would be interesting if Gambhir continues in Tests as well,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
“Its advantage being (that) there are not too many alternative options in the red ball format since VVS Laxman is not interested in coaching the senior Test team,” the source added.
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