Will Gautam Gambhir be terminated like Abhishek Nayar if India lose England series?

Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as India’s head coach

Gautam Gambhir‘s appointment as India’s head coach in July 2024 came with high expectations. The team, coming off a victorious T20 World Cup campaign under the stewardship of Rahul Dravid, was riding high on confidence. Gambhir, a World Cup-winning member and IPL title-winning captain and mentor, was seen as a natural successor to take up the role. 

However, barely months into his three-and-a-half-year term, which runs until December 2027, questions are being raised over his coaching ability, particularly in the Test format. And with India’s performance dipping, many are now drawing comparisons between his situation and that of Abhishek Nayar, who was recently terminated despite being a part of Gambhir’s coaching setup.

Indian team witnessing transitional period

Recently, under Gambhir’s tenure, the team witnessed the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin from Test cricket. While the team is in a transitional phase under the leadership of Shubman Gill in red-ball, the performances so far have been underwhelming.

Poor results in Test format

Last year, they suffered a historic home Test series whitewash to New Zealand, their first in 24 years, and a Test series defeat to Australia that ended their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final. India also suffered an ODI series loss to Sri Lanka, their first in 27 years.

Gautam Gambhir’s Test record as India coach:

India’s Test ranking has slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 during his stint. Even in the ongoing England series, a narrow 22-run defeat at Lord’s and another loss at Old Trafford have put India 1-2 behind in the five-match series. His decision-making, such as prioritizing all-rounders over specialist players, has brought criticism from former players. While Gambhir has fared well in T20Is, with clean sweeps against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, along with a Champions Trophy 2025, his ODI record has been on the positive side. 

Gautam Gambhir’s ODI record as India coach

Gautam Gambhir’s T20I record as India coach

Will Gautam Gambhir be terminated like Abhishek Nayar if India lose England series?

Meanwhile, the case of Abhishek Nayar, who worked with Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders during their title-winning 2024 IPL campaign, saw him roped in as India’s assistant coach. Yet, despite his bond to the head coach and other players like Rohit Sharma, Nayar was terminated by the BCCI following India’s string of red-ball failures. His exit was part of a wider review involving then captain Rohit Sharma, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, chief selector Ajit Agarkar, and Gambhir himself.

The message put out by the board was that results matter more than reputations. If a relatively new appointee like Nayar could be dropped not even one year in the position, Gambhir’s role may not be as secure as once thought. Despite being handed a lengthy term, the Indian board has shown that they are ready to act differently if the team fails to deliver. 

A series loss to England would not only hurt India’s red-ball pride but could also force the BCCI to re-evaluate its faith in Gambhir’s long-term vision. Given how abruptly Nayar was let go, it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine Gambhir facing similar consequences if results don’t turn around quickly.

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