"When he won the IPL, he was the same" - Sourav Ganguly backs under-fire Gautam Gambhir amid criticism of his 'straight talk'

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed head coach Gautam Gambhir, who came in for some flak over his frank comments at the pre-departure press conference ahead of the Australia tour. Throwing his weight behind the former opener, Ganguly said that the same kind of behavior was being praised when Gambhir mentored Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to victory in the IPL.

Having played an impressive role in KKR's IPL 2024 triumph on his return to the franchise as mentor, Gambhir was appointed as Team India's head coach in July this year. He took over the high-pressure role from Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended after India's triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

With Gambhir as coach, India lost the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka and were thumped 3-0 at home by New Zealand in a three-match Test series. The 43-year-old faced some criticism over his press conference ahead of the Australia tour for making a few blunt statements. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar even urged the BCCI to keep him away from 'such duties'.

Ganguly, though, had no issues with the Indian head coach’s interaction with the media. Speaking to Revsportz, he opined:

"All I will say is let him be. I saw some criticism on what he said in the press conference. It is the way he is. Let him be. When he won the IPL, he was the same. You were going gaga over him. Just because he has lost three Test matches and a one-day series against Sri Lanka, the straight talk has not been looked at nicely. But that is the way he is.

Pointing out that Australians have also played cricket their own way without be asked to alter their style, the 52-year-old urged critics not to pass a premature judgment on his coaching stint. Ganguly added:

"And why not? Australians, from the time I have watched cricket, they have been tough for you. They have played their cricket that way, whether it was [Steve] Waugh, [Ricky] Ponting or [Matthew] Hayden. So, there is nothing wrong with what Gambhir has said. That is the way he is, and he fights. He competes, so let us give him a chance. It has just been two-three months, and you are passing judgment on him."

As a player, Gambhir represented India in 242 matches across the three formats of the game, scoring 10,324 runs at an average of 38.95, with 20 hundreds and 63 fifties to his name.

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"I don't think as if I'm feeling the heat" - Gautam Gambhir on criticism after 3-0 loss to New Zealand

Following India's 3-0 defeat to New Zealand, skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Gambhir were massively trolled on social media. The latter, however, claimed that he has not been bothered by all the criticism. Speaking ahead of India's departure for the Australia series, he said:

"What difference does it make tell me? Social media what difference does it make in my life? And for that matter, anyone’s life. And when I took up this job, I always think it's going to be a highly difficult job and highly prestigious job as well. And honestly, I don't think as if I'm feeling the heat, because my job is to be absolutely honest."

India will begin their campaign in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia with the Perth Test, which gets underway on Friday, November 22.