Munaf Patel warns the BCCI over Gautam Gambhir's sacking

Being the head coach of the Indian cricket team is undoubtedly one of the toughest tasks in World Cricket. Carrying the burden of over 1.5 billion Indian cricket fans' expectations, a coach must also manage his star players within the dressing room. Furthermore, he grooms players for the future—individuals capable of leading their team to victory in big matches and tournaments over the long term. 

Gautam Gambhir, the current head coach of the Indian men's team, is known for his fiery temperament and incisive responses; yet, everyone acknowledges that Gambhir's primary priority is the country's victory, rather than any individual player's personal milestones. This philosophy of his was clearly evident in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, which India won dominantly. 

Under his coaching tenure, the Indian cricket team has already won 2 ICC trophies — ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. However, in the red ball cricket, the Indian team suffered hard times. India lost 0-3 against New Zealand, 0-2 against South Africa in the home series, while India lost 1-3 against Australia in the away series. For the first time in WTC history, the Indian team failed to reach in the finals.

Apart from that, senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their test retirements. After this, Rohit Sharma was also removed from the ODI captaincy last year, which indicated that everything is not well between the two veteran players and the head coach. On several occasions, the questions were also raised about Rohit and Virat’s commitments to ODI cricket as well, despite both players stating on many occasions that they want to play the 2027 ODI World Cup. 

Former Indian cricketer Munaf Patel came out in support of Gambhir, stating that removing him could lead to chaos. He added that Gambhir is perhaps the only individual in the dressing room who possesses the courage to drop even the biggest stars from the team when their performance dips, and who dares to speak the truth as it is.

“Just remember this, if a head coach like Gautam Gambhir is removed, then handling the players will become very difficult. He is a genuine person; he calls the truth as it is, and many people don’t like that. Everyone knows that if things go off track, he has the courage to drop that player,” he said.

“Man-management is the most important thing. And it is not easy. Try saying no to someone like Virat Kohli. Try saying no to Rohit Sharma. Tell me, how many people is Gautam Gambhir making enemies of just to coach the country?” Munaf added.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are currently busy in IPL 2026, while Gautam Gambhir is currently in the vacations. The trio will reunite in the Indian dressing room in June, when the ODI team hosts Afghanistan for a 3-match ODI series.