Players don't take him seriously: Gautam Gambhir's sacking demanded, replacement identified

Former England spinner Monty Panesar believes that India's one-coach-for-all-formats formula won't work with Gautam Gambhir after he lost six Test matches as the head coach. The Indian cricket team’s performance has been shaky since Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid in July 2024.

They suffered their first ODI series loss to Sri Lanka since 1997 and were shockingly whitewashed 3-0 at home in a Test series by New Zealand. Adding to his woes, India lost the Test series 3-1 to Australia, losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after ten years.

However, the Men in Blue are unbeaten in T20I cricket, winning all six matches under the new coach Gambhir, but he is yet to win the ODI match, and now all eyes are on the upcoming three-match ODI series against India at home ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Monty Panesar demands Gautam Gambhir's sacking as India's Test coach

Although Gambhir had successful stints as T20 mentor with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the defending IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). As a captain, the former Indian batter won two IPL titles, and he also played crucial roles in India's T20 and ODI World Cup triumphs in 2007 and 2011, respectively.

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But his Test numbers are not great in Australia and England, and now India's Test performance has highlighted his weakness in red-ball cricket, which prompted many to suggest the BCCI have separate coaches for the white-ball and Test teams.

Well, Monty Panesar backed the idea to have separate coaches for the Indian cricket team for the white-ball and red-ball cricket. He feels coaching all three teams is too much for Gautam Gambhir, and he might be facing the order of the senior players, as he played along with them.

Are Indian players not respecting Gautam Gambhir?

Monty Panesar was quoted as saying by the Times of India: “I think so. I think that's a good option. I think maybe the workload is too much for Gambhir...He's just transitioned into a coach. Sometimes it can be difficult for some of the senior players who are actually thinking, 'Well, I was his teammate a few years ago; now he's telling us how to play cricket.' It can be difficult, that transition, and also his record (as a batter) isn't great in Australia or in England.”

In Australia, Gambhir managed just 181 runs in four Tests at an average of 22.62, while in England, he has only 127 runs in five outings at an average of 12.70. Such figures don’t suit a coach of the Test side, and now BCCI should hand over the Test coaching role to VVS Laxman, said Panesar.

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India needs a legend like VVS Laxman for the Test team: Monty Panesar

The former England spinner said that Gambhir’s Test numbers are not that good and that’s posing a challenge to him to command respect in the Indian dressing room. He mentioned that legends like VVS Laxman, with proven success in all conditions, naturally command respect and authority.

Panesar further explained, “I think the selectors will be thinking, 'Is Gambhir taking it seriously as a coach, or should we get him to just focus on ODIs and T20Is and maybe bring in someone like VVS Laxman, for example (as Test coach)? Or bring him in as a batting coach to help Gambhir. He's similar to Rahul Dravid. He's been successful in all conditions. I think you need some sort of Indian legend, who has done really well in all conditions, to come in as a coach, because then you naturally command that respect.”

He concluded, “If Laxman tells you, 'You are not going to play the ball on the up when it is swinging,' you listen, right? But with Gambhir, I'm not sure if they really take him seriously, or they're just saying, 'Okay, yeah, we'll listen to him, but we're going to go and play our natural game.'.”