Anti-Gautam Gambhir Lobby At Work Prior To IND vs ENG Series? Verbal Shots Fired At Head Coach After Rohit-Virat's Retirement

India tour of England: Gautam Gambhir, the Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, continues to be under fire for one reason or another. Gautam Gambhir, alongside ODI skipper Rohit Sharma, led the Indian team to an unbeaten Champions Trophy victory earlier this year. But Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's sudden retirement from the Test format is being seen as his doing by many fans and experts. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma now gone from the Test format, Gambhir will have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as far as the Test team is concerned.

The happenings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year shook up the foundations of Indian cricket. India conceded the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia earlier this year and also crashed out of the finals of the World Test Championship. The team, especially Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, received a lot of flak for it. Though the calls for changes in the Indian Test team grew louder and louder after the IND vs AUS Test series, right now it seems that all of it is being blamed on the Head Coach.

Gautam Gambhir Surrounded By Voices Of Dissent Prior To The IND vs ENG Series

After the culmination of the cash-rich Indian Premier League, all eyes will shift towards the India vs England series, which is also the start of a new World Test Championship cycle. Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and Head Coach Gautam Gambhir have been bestowed with the tough task of appointing the new Test captain who will drive the culture of the Indian team going forward. Few of the comments made against the former India player and current India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir have been questionable.

ALSO READ | Gautam Gambhir Under The Scanner After Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma's Test Retirements, Ex-IND Player Asks Head Coach To Deliver Results

Recently, former India player and member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Sunil Gavaskar, said that Gambhir did not let Shreyas Iyer get his due credit for KKR winning the IPL in 2024. It is worth noting that the legendary Sunny G had suggested Iyer's name as one of the contenders to take up the role of the Indian skipper.

A few days back, former India Head coach Ravi Shastri suddenly made a huge remark on Rohit Sharma, which can be seen as one of the indirect jibes taken at Gautam Gambhir. Shastri clearly said that as a coach, he would have never allowed Rohit to sit out of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series that was played earlier this year. Ex-India player Atul Wassan also joined the bandwagon and said that with Rohit and Virat now gone from the Test side, there is no option for Gambhir but to deliver in the Test format.

BCCI On The Hunt For India's Next Test Captain

The immediate challenge that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the other stakeholders of the Indian Test team have on their hands is the appointment of the new skipper.

Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah are being seen as a few top contenders to take up the role of India's next Test skipper, but nobody really knows what has been happening with the team selection process so far.

ALSO READ | Sunil Gavaskar Endorses New Contender For India Captaincy, Shubman Gill And Rishabh Pant Likely To Be Challenged For Big Role