“Was the coach making decisions on the field?” - Former India cricketer’s scathing attack on Gautam Gambhir amid IND vs AFG 2026 ODIs

× Former Team India pacer S Sreesanth launched a scathing attack on head coach Gautam Gambhir amid the ongoing home ODI series against Afghanistan. Downplaying Gambhir's impact on India's recent T20 World Cup 2026 triumph, Sreesanth believes the players on the field deserve all the credit. Ad Heading into the tournament as favorites, the Men in Blue became the first-ever side to win back-to-back T20 World Cup titles.

It was their second ICC event triumph under Gambhir, with the 2025 Champions Trophy being the other. Yet, Sreesanth, on ‘The Lallantop's show 'Guest in the Newsroom,' dismissed Gambhir's impact on India's title run, saying (via Hindustan Times): "When the team won the World Cup, all the credit went to Gambhir. But if Sanju Samson hadn't been there, Suryakumar Yadav hadn't captained, and the bowling changes hadn't been made at the right time, would we have won the match?

Was the coach making decisions on the field? It's fine if we have a coach like Ashish Nehra, who remains involved." Ad Trending Incidentally, Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir were teammates in two of India's most memorable moments, the 2007 and 2011 T20 and ODI World Cup triumphs.

"India needs a mentor, not a coach" - S Sreesanth blames Gautam Gambhir for Test struggles S Sreesanth further blamed Gautam Gambhir for Team India's woeful Test results in the past two years. After a dominant run at home for over a decade, India have been whitewashed in two of their last four home Test series since Gambhir took over as head coach. Ad They suffered a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand in late 2024 before losing 0-2 to South Africa a year later.

"Change the coach, friend. India needs a mentor, not a coach. Team India needs a mentor like Dhoni.

You have to be a brother first. You can't just laugh when you win and get angry when you lose. You've done well for the country, that's great.

That doesn't mean others aren't trying. Have a mentor over a coach," said Sreesanth (via the aforementioned source).The two home series losses aside, India also surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 to Australia in early 2025.

As a result, they failed to qualify for the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time in tournament history. × Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda.

Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran Former Team India pacer S Sreesanth launched a scathing attack on head coach Gautam Gambhir amid the ongoing home ODI series against Afghanistan. Downplaying Gambhir's impact on India's recent T20 World Cup 2026 triumph, Sreesanth believes the players on the field deserve all the credit. Ad Heading into the tournament as favorites, the Men in Blue became the first-ever side to win back-to-back T20 World Cup titles.

It was their second ICC event triumph under Gambhir, with the 2025 Champions Trophy being the other. Yet, Sreesanth, on ‘The Lallantop's show 'Guest in the Newsroom,' dismissed Gambhir's impact on India's title run, saying (via Hindustan Times): "When the team won the World Cup, all the credit went to Gambhir. But if Sanju Samson hadn't been there, Suryakumar Yadav hadn't captained, and the bowling changes hadn't been made at the right time, would we have won the match?

Was the coach making decisions on the field? It's fine if we have a coach like Ashish Nehra, who remains involved." Ad Trending Incidentally, Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir were teammates in two of India's most memorable moments, the 2007 and 2011 T20 and ODI World Cup triumphs.

"India needs a mentor, not a coach" - S Sreesanth blames Gautam Gambhir for Test struggles S Sreesanth further blamed Gautam Gambhir for Team India's woeful Test results in the past two years. After a dominant run at home for over a decade, India have been whitewashed in two of their last four home Test series since Gambhir took over as head coach. Ad They suffered a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand in late 2024 before losing 0-2 to South Africa a year later.

"Change the coach, friend. India needs a mentor, not a coach. Team India needs a mentor like Dhoni.

You have to be a brother first. You can't just laugh when you win and get angry when you lose. You've done well for the country, that's great.

That doesn't mean others aren't trying. Have a mentor over a coach," said Sreesanth (via the aforementioned source).The two home series losses aside, India also surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 to Australia in early 2025.

As a result, they failed to qualify for the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final for the first time in tournament history. × Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda.

Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran × Was this artic