Gautam Gambhir Finds Support From R Ashwin Amid Criticism: "Should Be Very Careful"

Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has faced a lot of criticism lately after the side's embarrassing 0-2 Test series loss at home against South Africa. Social media was abuzz with chatter regarding his future and some ex-cricketers even suggested sacking him as India's red-ball coach. However, ex-India spinner R Ashwin came to his defence and said that he has managed to leave an impact in T20Is for India. The comments came just ahead of the India's three-match ODI series against the Proteas. However, Ashwin added that he would like to see more stability when it comes to the Indian cricket team batting line-up.

“I should be very careful when I say this, but I would say that Gambhir has managed to leave an impact on the T20 side of things, where he has been quite experimental in terms of the batting order, which has come in for some debate. These next 10 T20Is that India will play before the T20 World Cup will give us an indication of how much of a shake-up that team is going to go through. I would love to see a lot more stability in terms of what we do with the batting lineup,” Ashwin said on YouTube.

Ashwin pointed out that Gambhir has already left a mark in white-ball cricket.

“I think GG, the white-ball coach, has already left a bit of a stamp. That is a lot of credit to the IPL in many ways. It has thrown up some really stunning, stunning white-ball cricketers for India, namely Abhishek Sharma. That is one cricketer I would love to watch out for again in the T20 format. His exploits around the format will also dictate where India go in the T20 World Cup. A bit of a fearless approach.”

“Once upon a time, I played for India in the T20 format and always wanted the batters to play in this fashion. It does not always happen when you are playing; it has to happen when you are retired. So I am glad it has happened. A fearless brand of cricket which we always wanted to happen,” he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Ravichandran Ashwin Gautam Gambhir India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team India vs South Africa 2025, India Cricket