'They Will Call For Anybody’s Head': T20 World Cup Winner Defends Coach Gautam Gambhir Amid Sacking Claims After Test Series Defeat

Indian Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has landed himself in hot water with netizens after India's humiliating defeat to South Africa in the Ind vs SA Test series. Rumors started circulating regarding Gambhir's future in the dressing room after India suffered their second home Test defeat in little over a year.

Furthermore, several reports have claimed that VVS Laxman could be Gautam Gambhir's replacement in the red-ball format. Following the rumors, Robin Uthappa, who was a part of the MS Dhoni-led squad that was the winner of the T20 World Cup 2007, has spoken in favor of the ex-KKR captain.

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Robin Uthappa Dismisses Claims Calling For Gambhir's Sacking

While many fans, including some former cricketers like Manoj Tiwary, have stated Gautam Gambhir should part ways with the national team, the T20 World Cup winner defended his former Indian teammate. Robin Uthappa explained that it's not the coaches who go on the field to play, thus putting the whole blame on the coach does not feel justified.

When asked if Gambhir should be sacked or not, the former KKR player shared, "No, man. Like, it's as if some coach was going out there and playing, like, what kind of a question is that? It’s like I said yesterday that, listen, people have gone after Rahul Dravid, the guy who’s got 25,000 – 30,000 runs in international cricket, right? So if he can get trolled, and he can be called a bad coach, and he should be sacked, and they can call for his head, then they will call for anybody’s head."

Several other veteran Indian players, including Suresh Raina and Sunil Gavaskar, have spoken in favor of Gambhir.

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BCCI Not Looking To Replace Gautam Gambhir

BCCI sources recently confirmed to NDTV that they are not currently looking to replace Gambhir. They also pointed out that the head coach was currently rebuilding a team and that his contract runs till the 2027 World Cup.