Table of Contents
Lalit Modi stands in support of the India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir at a time when a large portion of the Indian cricket fan community wants to see him resigning form the head coach position.
India recently suffered back-to-back series defeats against Ireland and England across all formats before heading to Zimbabwe, where they finally performed strongly enough to win a T20I series. The series win against Zimbabwe marks India's first win after the 2026 T20 World Cup win, with Shreyas Iyer as captain.
Lalit Modi calls Gautam Gambhir his 'friend'
Interestingly, in the series against Zimbabwe, Gautam Gambhir is not with the team as the head, it is VVS Laxman who is coaching the team right now in a stopgap role.
In support of his 'friend' Gautam Gambhir, Lalit Modi says that the extremely tight schedule throughout the year can be a reason behind the team's downgraded performance against Ireland and England.
Lalit Modi mentions that a change in coach will not improve the performance; to improve it, the BCCI needs to scrap some less important matches like the bilateral ODI matches.
"But before blaming only the coach, perhaps we should also question the people constructing these punishing schedules," Lalit Modi said.
The founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) highlights the intense schedule for the players, who represent the Indian cricket team across the formats. Lalit Modi mentions that the players went for international fixtures only after a paltry break after the long season of IPL 2026.
Coaches are not magicians: Lalit Modi
Factors like relentless matches, different playing conditions, and insufficient time for recovery make the series more challenging for the cricketers.
"Our players came through an intense IPL season and were immediately pushed into international cricket, different countries, different conditions and back-to-back series—with inadequate time to rest, recover, practise or mentally reset. Players are not machines. Coaches are not magicians," he says on his 'X' post on July 26.
Modi asks BCCI to reduce the workload on the players and the coaches by cutting off some fixtures, with the IPL as the centrepiece of a puzzle.
"The IPL should remain the priority and the centrepiece of the cricketing calendar. ICC tournaments and meaningful Test cricket must be protected. Bilateral series should be selective, competitive and commercially relevant. Meaningless one-day series that add little beyond television inventory should be scrapped," the post reads.
Lalit Modi asks BCCI to scrap some ODIs from the fixtures
Further in the post, Modi expressed that it would be wrong to judge Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the team based on only a few poor results. To evaluate his performance, he should be allowed to continue a full cycle.
"Gautam must be judged over a full cycle, not condemned after one bad passage. Review the cricketing decisions—but also review the calendar, the travel, the recovery periods and the workload placed upon our players," Lalit Modi opines.
THE COACH IS NOT THE CALENDAR.
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) July 26, 2026
Gautam Gambhir is a dear friend, but my support for him today is not based on friendship. It is based on fairness, experience and cricketing common sense.
Indian cricket has developed a dangerous habit: celebrate people when they win, then look… pic.twitter.com/SETjRbH2SQ
