“Now he’s telling us how to play cricket” - Former England cricketer’s interesting take on Gautam Gambhir after 1-3 loss in BGT 2024-25

Former England spinner Monty Panesar felt Gautam Gambhir should be relieved as India's head coach in Tests after the side's dismal showing in their last two series. Panesar highlighted Gambhir's poor Test record in places like Australia and England and his playing with several of the senior players in the current setup as reasons he should coach only the Indian white-ball teams.

Team India have underachieved massively in Gambhir's brief coaching stint, losing back-to-back series against New Zealand (home) and Australia (away). Under him, India have lost six out of their last eight red-ball outings after a 2-0 win over the lowly Bangladesh unit.

When asked in an interview with The Times of India about India possibly exploring split-coaching options for their white and red-ball teams, Panesar said:

"I think so. I think that's a good option. I think maybe the workload is too much for Gambhir...He's just transitioned into a coach. Sometimes it can be difficult for some of the senior players who actually will be thinking, 'Well, I was his teammate a few years ago, now he's telling us how to play cricket'. It can be difficult, that transition."

He added:

"And also his record (as a batter) isn't great in Australia or in England. He (Gambhir) averages 23 in Australia. He doesn't average well in England either. He didn't play the moving ball very well."

For the record, Gambhir has played with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, among others during his playing career.

Despite an impressive overall Test average of almost 42, the current Indian head coach averaged a dismal 22.62 and 12.70 in the red-ball format in Australia and England.

"Need some sort of Indian legend, who has done really well in all conditions" - Monty Panesar

Gambhir did not enjoy much success in England during his Indian career. [Credit: Getty]

Monty Panesar felt India should look to bring a more accomplished cricketer as their head coach in Test cricket, citing VVS Laxman as a possible option.

Laxman has been India's head coach on an interim basis several times over the past few years. The former batter is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

"I think you need some sort of Indian legend, who has done really well in all conditions, to come in as a coach, because then you naturally command that respect. I think the selectors will be thinking 'Is Gambhir taking it seriously as a coach, or should we get him to just focus on ODIs and T20Is, and maybe bring in someone like VVS Laxman, for example (as Test coach)?...Or bring him in as a batting coach to help Gambhir," said Panesar.

He concluded:

"He's similar to Rahul Dravid. He's been successful in all conditions. If Laxman tells 'you are not going to play the ball on the up when it is swinging', you listen, right? But with Gambhir, I'm not sure if they really take him seriously, or they're just saying, 'okay, yeah, we'll listen to him, but we're gonna go and play our natural game."

Meanwhile, Gambhir's next assignment as Indian coach will be the white-ball games at home against England, followed by the Champions Trophy. India's next red-ball series will be the five-match tour of England, starting in June.