Gautam Gambhir Faces Heat For Dig At IPL Team Owner: "No Merit In Argument"

India head coach Gautam Gambhir warned 'experts' against jumping into his domain amid suggestions that the team should look for a different 'red-ball coach'. Gambhir's retort seemed to be directed towards the co-owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Parth Jindal, who advocated a change after India were swept at home by South Africa in the Test series. However, Gambhir's former Delhi teammate Aakash Chopra has advised him against taking up such fights or targeting individuals in the public domain.

"Gautam came, and he was very fiery. You expect that with Gautam. When he comes to press conferences, he speaks his heart out. I have a suggestion for Gautam. When you come so fiery, and when you go after an individual or something, people then start waiting for Gautam to fail. At times, it seems like you are setting yourself up for this kind of criticism," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Gambhir came into the press conference after the conclusion of the ODI series against South Africa with a fiery mindset. While Chopra said that Gambhir's "heart is in the right place", he also said the coach is setting himself up for failures by taking up personal fights.

"It cannot be his (Gambhir's) mistake only when the team loses. One thing is certain with Gautam. His heart is at the right place, and he is a very passionate guy. He is always ready to fight for the country and the country's team. My only suggestion is don't fight. You have to please nobody. Don't pick up so many fights," he added.

"People said things that have nothing to do with cricket. An IPL team owner also wrote about split coaching. It's important for people to stay in their domain. Because if we don't go into someone's domain, they also don't have the right to come into our domain," Gambhir had said in the press conference in Vizag on Saturday.

One of the reasons Gambhir gave behind India's defeat in the 2-match Test series was the absence of Shubman Gill, who got injured in the first match and was absent from the second.

"He said that we lost by 30 runs in the Kolkata Test, in which our main batter, who has scored 1,000 runs in the last seven months, wasn't available in both innings, and why is no one talking about it? I concur because we had spoken about it that if Shubman had played in both innings, he would have scored 30 at least. However, we also criticised the pitch," Chopra said.

On Gambhir's direct attack at Jindal, the Delhi Capitals owner, Chopra said that the coach's argument doesn't have much merit.

"He said if you don't have the domain expertise, don't talk about it. I felt it was slightly unnecessary. However, sometimes we fail to understand the undercurrents behind it. I am not trying to defend him. However, at times, you feel bad about someone because you know that guy's opinion about you had been different earlier as well, so let me just fire it back," he added.

"That might have been the case with that one person. Otherwise, I don't think there is merit in this argument that you don't need to speak about something if you are not the domain expert. Just like the incredible thing Indigo has done. I am not an aviation expert, but I can talk. I don't think someone doesn't have a moral right to talk. However, that one thing might have had a slightly deeper, bigger meaning," Chopra remarked.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Gautam Gambhir Aakash Chopra Cricket