ISLAMABAD: India’s crushing loss to South Africa has triggered a fierce backlash against head coach Gautam Gambhir, with journalists, former cricketers and social media users calling for his resignation after the team suffered second Test whitewash at home in 12 months.
The innings defeat, India’s biggest-ever at home, also ended their long-held aura of dominance in red-ball cricket. Critics said Gambhir has failed to protect a legacy built by past captains and coaches.
Indian journalist Sushant Sharma accused Gambhir of “letting down” former Test greats such as Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He said Gambhir had ruined the foundation these players had created.
Sharma also slammed Gambhir for contradicting his long-held view that “no individual should take credit,” after the coach told reporters: “I am the same guy who won India the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup.”
Another senior journalist, Vikrant Gupta, said Indian cricket had been “rewarding mediocrity” for some time, and that mediocrity had now become “poor.”
In an earlier post, Gupta quoted Gambhir’s defense that it was for the BCCI to decide his future. “Truth is all that has been squandered in the last two weeks,” Gupta wrote.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra highlighted India’s slide at home, noting that the team has now lost five of its last seven home Tests, including two whitewashes. “Home dominance no more,” he posted.
Social media criticism also intensified. One user pointed out that Gambhir is now the first Indian coach to oversee more than one home series whitewash. Others shared statistics showing India’s winning percentage dropping from 79 percent in 2019 to just 29 percent in 2025.
Several viral posts demanded that the BCCI remove Gambhir. One user said repeated clean-sweep losses were “hurting the team’s confidence and future.”
A thread circulating widely accused India of preparing overly aggressive spinning pitches, particularly in Kolkata, a tactic analysts said backfired and exposed India’s own batting.
Accounts also listed what they called failures in the “Gambhir era,” including ODI series losses to Sri Lanka and Australia, the team being bowled out for 46 at home, ending a 12-year unbeaten home Test record, and defeats in Australia, England and New Zealand.
Cricket platform CricXtasy asked whether it was time for Gambhir to resign from the Test role, noting that India had been whitewashed at home by both New Zealand and South Africa, lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, and failed to beat a struggling England side.
Gambhir also faced scrutiny for his changing stance on “transition.” During the England tour he had insisted India was “not in transition.” But after the South Africa defeat, he said losing was part of the process for a “young team.”
Allegations of paid PR campaign
The coach is also battling a separate controversy: claims that he allegedly spent nearly five million rupees on a paid public relations campaign to counter online criticism after India’s 0-2 loss in Australia.
Social media accounts alleged that 3.6 million rupees from that amount were used for paid activity on X. One user claimed a PR agency offered him money based on tweet views to post in Gambhir’s favor. Others pointed to identical, coordinated messages from fan accounts defending the coach.
“The same guy who used to criticize others for doing PR is now doing the exact same thing,” one cricket handle wrote, citing a so-called “JIT report.”
While the claims remain unverified, the chatter has added fuel to public anger.
Some fans, however, rejected the allegations. They said their support for Gambhir was genuine and not paid. “The man who runs a community kitchen feeding over 5,000 people daily doesn’t need my post to clean his image,” one user wrote.
Pressure mounts on Gambhir
Gambhir’s 15-month tenure as head coach has been marked by frequent setbacks. India suffered a 0-3 home whitewash to New Zealand, a 1-4 loss in Australia, and failed to reach the World Test Championship final for the first time. In limited-overs cricket, India lost ODI series to Sri Lanka and an understrength Australia.
His earlier political career has also resurfaced in the debate. After joining the BJP, he served as an MP from 2019 to 2024. Months after resigning, he was appointed India’s head coach, a move critics say was influenced by political connections — a view also echoed by journalist Vikrant Gupta in a circulating video.
“Gautam Gambhir is running this team like a political party, playing players on quota,” Gupta said, also criticising team selection after spinner Kuldeep Yadav was benched while Adam Zampa dominated against India.
With India’s form collapsing, and the PR allegations still swirling, pressure is growing on the BCCI to take a call on Gambhir’s future. For now, the criticism shows no sign of slowing.
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