"He's a really strong leader of men" - England head coach defends Gautam Gambhir amid criticism ahead of IND VS ENG 2025 T20I series

England head coach Brendon McCullum defended his under-fire Indian counterpart Gautam Gambhir ahead of the India-England T20I series. Team India and England will face off in five ODIs, starting at Kolkata on January 22. The teams will then play three ODIs from February 6 to 12 before the Champions Trophy, starting February 19.

Gambhir has been under immense pressure following a torrid start to his Indian head coaching tenure. Since taking over in July, Gambhir has helplessly watched India suffer a 0-2 ODI series loss in Sri Lanka, followed by back-to-back Test series defeats against New Zealand and Australia.

Yet, ahead of the India-England T20Is, Gambhir found strong support from McCullum, who said at the press conference (Via Hindustan Times):

"What I will say about Gautam Gambhir is I've worked with him before and he's an outstanding leader. He's a really strong leader of men and in the time that he's had in any sort of leadership positions which he's held previously, he's been able to excel I'm sure."

He added:

"He's only just sort of got underway with this team but there's no doubt that he'll be the best out of the talent that he's got and we've got to find a way to be able to counter that with our own style."

McCullum played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) under Gambhir's captaincy in 2012 and 2013, with the franchise winning their maiden IPL title in 2012. Gambhir also led KKR to a second title in 2014 and more recently was the team mentor when they won a third IPL title in 2024.

"Everyone's approaches are very unique" - Brendon McCullum

England have enjoyed a successful run in Tests under McCullum [Credit: Getty]

Brendon McCullum feels that a coach's main job is to ensure the team environment is happy and in a healthy space, rather than 'coaching' technicalities. McCullum took over as England's Test coach in the middle of 2022 and the side have since achieved tremendous results, barring the odd hiccup.

The former New Zealand skipper was also made England's all-format coach last year after the departure of white-ball head coach Matthew Mott.

"I don't really know, sometimes I don't even know if coach is the right word, to be honest. I think everyone does things really differently, and everyone's approaches are very unique. And how I try and operate, I think it's probably less of a coach," said McCullum.

"I try and make sure that the environment is a happy and enjoyable environment where guys feel as if they can push their talents and push themselves towards the uncomfortable situations and know that there's still going to be that support and that care there afterwards and be encouraged to go again towards those."

He concluded:

"Other coaches are very different, they like to run quite structured, quite technical. Other coaches are probably a bit more regimented in the way that they go about things, but I guess it's really different."

Following Mott's exit, Marcus Trescothick took over as England's interim head coach in the white-ball formats. The upcoming India series will be McCullum's first assignment as England's white-ball coach.