Gautam Gambhir’s job on the line! BCCI to decide his future after T20 World Cup 2026

Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra has opined that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will decide the future of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach on the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 performance.

Aakash Chopra made this statement after Gautam Gambhir's India National Cricket Team was whitewashed by the South Africa National Cricket Team in the two-match Test series at home.

India's Test numbers are not good at all - Aakash Chopra

Since taking over as the head coach of the Indian team, Gautam Gambhir has achieved immense success in white-ball cricket, especially T20I cricket. The Men In Blue have been absolutely dominant in 20-over cricket and won back-to-back series.

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He also guided India to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph and then recently steered the team to the Asia Cup 2025 victory.

However, the same success has not been seen in Test cricket as India have struggled badly in the red-ball format since Gautam Gambhir came to the helm.

After winning the Bangladesh home series 2-0, India faced a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home and then lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 1-3.

In the new ICC World Test Championship cycle, India started off with a 2-2 draw in England before registering a 2-0 whitewash over West Indies. Just when things started looking good, South Africa humbled India with a dominant 2-0 clean sweep.

Since India's Test series loss to the Proteas, several fans and experts have called for Gautam Gambhir's sacking, and now Aakash Chopra, while speaking on his YouTube channel, shared his views on the matter. He stated:

"Under Gautam Gambhir as coach, India's Test numbers are not good at all. You don't have to shy away from it."

Does that mean you should sack him? - Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir

Aakash Chopra further stated that India have not been able to win against top countries in Test cricket, but added that Gautam Gambhir should not be sacked anytime soon. He said:

"We have only won two series' - against Bangladesh and West Indies. We lost to New Zealand, drew in England, lost to Australia and South Africa as well. We have not been able to win against the top countries.

"Does that mean you should sack him? India don't play another Test match for 10 months. In between, there is the T20 World Cup. We are the defending champions and our performance in the T20 World Cup will decide the road ahead. Ahead of the tournament, I would not talk about any big changes. And that includes coaching of Gambhir. T20 World Cup will be a huge test."

One is the mistake of the coach - Parthiv Patel

Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel blamed head coach Gautam Gambhir for India's struggles, as he suggested that they are not playing the right combination. He said:

"There are two things. One is the mistake of the coach. The batters and bowlers are doing their job. But the question is, are we playing with the right XI? Does India need so many all-rounders in Test cricket? I believe that Test cricket is a game of specialists.

"You must have six batters. The best thing is you have a wicket-keeper batter who is among the best and who has an average of above 40. Then you need four bowlers and one all-rounder," he said on Star Sports.

Also Read: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh fight for No.3 spot in India Test XI; Sarfaraz Khan kicked out