Gautam Gambhir’s comment after winning the recently-concluded ODI series against South Africa made headlines for the wrong reasons. Without taking the name of an IPL owner, Gambhir took a dig at him for sharing his views on having different coaches for different formats. It is a fact that Gambhir’s record as Head Coach of the Indian Test team is underwhelming.
In the last 18 Test matches, the Indian team has won only 7 and lost 9 under Gambhir, giving him a win percentage of 38.89. However, Gambhir’s record as a white-ball coach is extremely impressive. In 23 T20Is, the Indian team has registered 21 wins and lost 2 games, with a win percentage of 91.30. Under Gambhir, the Indian team has also performed fairly well in ODIs, registering 11 wins out of 17 and losing 5 matches, with a win percentage of 64.70.
Meanwhile, under Anil Kumble, India had an overall win percentage of 62.1. Under Kumble, India registered 23 wins out of 37 matches. During the tenure of Ravi Shastri, the Indian team posted 121 wins out of 184 matches, with an overall win percentage of 65.8.
In terms of white-ball formats, former India captain, Rahul Dravid’s record was decent. He steered India to two finals of ICC events, winning one. India were the runners-up of the 50 overs World Cup while lifting the T20 World Cup 2024 title. Under Dravid, India’s overall win percentage read as 71 per cent, with 103 wins and 36 loses out of 144 matches.
The current Indian team has begun its final preparations for the T20 World Cup next year on a positive note, comprehensively winning the first T20I against the Proteas in Cuttack by 101 runs. It is the format that has given Gambhir the most success, but poor results in the longer format have also invited strong criticism.
There is no denying the fact that Gambhir comes across as a determined character. He has always prided himself on winning matches for India, be it as a player and now as a coach. But a string of poor results in Test matches have led to criticism being levelled at him.
Harsha Bhogle on his YouTube channel said, “If Gautam starts to think, he has got to answer his critics, then he’s in a contest that he doesn’t need to be. Because all his energy needs to be focused in one direction. But if he’s thinking, he will go into a press conference and show that he is good, then it means energy is just flowing in the wrong direction.”
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Harsha further added, “It’s not Gambhir’s battle anymore. So, it is better to stay calm. Create the right air. Ensure the air that people are breathing in the dressing room is an air of great positivity. He doesn’t have to fight his battles anymore. He has done them remarkably well. Eventually, Gautam Gambhir will be judged by what the players think about him and what the records suggest.”
Under Gambhir’s tenure as Head Coach, India has already lifted the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy. Can he go one step further by piloting his team to a T20 World Cup triumph? Only time will tell.
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