"Going To Be Tough For This Indian Team": Gautam Gambhir Sent Blunt Red-Ball Message By Ex-Star

For the next six months, Indian cricket's focus will be on white-ball formats. Starting with the T20 World Cup and then the IPL, red-ball cricket will take a backseat. It will not be until August, when India play a two-Test series in Sri Lanka, that the focus will shift back to the Test format. It has been one format where the Gautam Gambhir-coached side has taken a beating, suffering clean sweeps at home against South Africa and New Zealand.

Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu feels Gambhir needs to buy some time in the red-ball format. "India coach Gautam Gambhir has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and I think he is going to have to take it as it comes. He is going to have to find a way to buy himself time in the red-ball game, and I'm of the view that the performances in white-ball cricket may assist him," Taibu wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"In limited-overs cricket, India have a lot of resources from which to select. The 2026 T20 World Cup is also in their favour, as it will be on home ground, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February-March. In ODIs, Kohli and Rohit will naturally take on a lot more responsibility from a performance and leadership point of view. So I think Gambhir will be okay in terms of his position. However, from a red-ball point of view, it's going to be tough for this Indian team in the near future.

"Some may speak more to the narrative that Gambhir should perhaps carry on with the white-ball stuff and let someone else fulfil the Test cricket duties. Splitting the red- and white-ball coaching roles was something we gave a go within the Proteas set-up back in 2023."

Taibu felt that Gambhir has the BCCI's backing. "Gambhir's contract runs through to the 2027 ODI World Cup and India just need to back him," Taibu wrote.

"I don't think the men in suits at the BCCI put him in the position of coach so that he can be successful within six months. They want him to be successful over a period of two to four years. In that period, things are not going to be all good all the time. It needs to be about the long term."

Topics mentioned in this article

Gautam Gambhir India Cricket Team BCCI Cricket Tatenda Taibu