"Gautam Gambhir Will Be Gone If He Doesn't Win This World Cup": Ex-England Star's Huge Remark

India face West Indies in a do-or-die Super Eight game in the T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday. The winner of the contest will make it to the semi-finals, while the losing side will be eliminated from the tournament. Ahead of the crucial clash, former England pacer Steve Harmison has made a big remark about Gautam Gambhir's future as India head coach. Harmison said Gambhir might not be able to keep his job if the Suryakumar Yadav-led side fails to win the tournament. India have entered this edition as defending champions, having lifted the title in Barbados in 2024.

"Gambhir is hard to like, and that doesn't help. He's very spiky, and I am not sure what he's like in the dressing room. If you have got very little ego as an India coach, you've got a chance to succeed. He'll be gone if he doesn't win this World Cup. But I also admire him for the way he has gone about coaching. He was a prickly character, a prickly player, and a stubborn player," Steve Harmison said on the 'talkSport Cricket' YouTube channel.

The former England pacer praised Gambhir for his "loyalty" but added that the India head coach lacks the introspection that a "good coach" requires.

"He has gone into his coaching without the Indian greats. Instead, he has gone in with Morne Morkel and Ryan ten Doeschate, who, in his eyes, are the best coaches for his way of managing the group. He's loyal to the people he wants to be around, and I admire that about him. The sign of a good coach is admitting when he's wrong and putting it right. It's also one who looks himself in the mirror and says this is not going to work and I need to change the course of this ship. That's something I don't think he's strong at," Harmison explained.

India won four consecutive matches to reach the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2026. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side then suffered a heavy 76-run defeat to South Africa in their second-round clash but kept their semi-final hopes alive with a commanding 72-run win over Zimbabwe. With two points each, India and West Indies now meet in a virtual quarter-final - a must-win fixture that will decide the second semi-finalist from Group 1.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket England Cricket Team India Cricket Team Gautam Gambhir Stephen Harmison T20 World Cup 2026