"He shouldn't deviate from the key topics in the future" - Former India cricketer's huge statement on Gautam Gambhir after BGT 2024-25

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has slammed head coach Gautam Gambhir after India's back-to-back Test series losses against New Zealand and Australia. The 44-year-old questioned Gambhir about India’s playing XI throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The cricketer-turned-commentator posed Gambhir serious questions, including ones that concern youngsters like Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Prasidh Krishna. The remarks came as India lost 1-3 in the five-game series Down Under and crashed out of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final race.

On Wednesday, January 8, Kaif posted a video on X, where he said:

“He [Gautam Gambhir] shouldn’t deviate from the key topics in the future. You didn’t play the right 11, you played Jurel in the first Test, why did you play him? If you dropped then why did you drop him? Sarfaraz was there, he scored 150 on the seaming track in Bengaluru, but he doesn’t play in Australia. Tell me the reason.”

“And what did you see in Harshit Rana, was he a great bowler in domestic cricket to play him in the Test match? An ideal bowler, who bowls on the deck, the one who should’ve bowled [Prasidh Krishna], didn’t play,” he added.

Notably, Jurel was left out of the XI after the first Test despite him impressing for India A against Australia A in the two unofficial Tests. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana was played ahead of the in-form Prasidh Krishna, who bagged 10 wickets in the above series. On the other hand, Sarfaraz Khan didn’t get a game in the five-match rubber.

Kaif also questioned Gambhir’s decision not to play Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the series opener. He asked the think tank to focus on what went wrong instead of giving attention to controversies involving Sam Konstas. He opined:

“I saw the press conference. Where was the mistake, whatever Sam Konstas did, I saw that. I want to know what was the main issue. Whatever Sam did, we are already discussing that. It doesn’t matter.

"You are deviating from the point. The main thing is you lost three Test matches against New Zealand. You took a 19-member squad to Australia, there Jadeja didn’t play, he should answer that. Ashwin, our legend, was also dropped in the first Test match. Good for Bumrah, ” he added.

Notably, Washington Sundar played the series opener in Perth ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin and Jadeja then played the second and third Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane respectively. Following Ashwin’s retirement from international cricket after the third Test, Jadeja and Sundar were included for the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

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“He was behind when it comes to tactics and playing 11 combinations” – Mohammad Kaif’s no-nonsense verdict on Gautam Gambhir

Mohammad Kaif gave a straightforward verdict on where Gautam Gambhir failed as a coach in the BGT series. He said that the coach was found wanting both tactically and in deciding the right playing XI combination:

“The biggest coach is one who is tactically No. 1, he should exactly know his 11 and team combination. What team should be picked against Australia? These are big work. It’s okay that he failed to help Kohli make amends, he will take his time regarding that. But he was behind when it comes to tactics and playing 11 combinations and it’s true.”

Besides two back-to-back Test series defeats against New Zealand (home) and Australia (away), Gambhir also lost the ODI series 0-2 in Sri Lanka. The 43-year-old will be keen to turn his fortunes around in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which starts in February.