Gambhir's Cryptic Post on Coach's "Unlimited Authority" Sparks Debate

Taking to X, Tharoor had posted a picture with Gambhir after meeting him at Nagpur, where the first T20I against New Zealand was held. In the post, he wrote, "In Nagpur, enjoyed a good &frank discussion with my old friend @GautamGambhir, the man with the hardest job in India after the PM's! He is being second-guessed by millions daily but stays calm & walks on undaunted. A word of appreciation for his quiet determination and able leadership. Wishing him all success -- starting today! #INDvNZT20"

Gambhir, ever since taking over as India's head coach in 2024, has been subjected to immense trolling and scrutiny from Indian cricket fans, who have often questioned how much power he has as a coach and the way he treats the veterans and rising stars in different ways.

To this, Gambhir replied, "Thanks a lot Dr @ShashiTharoor! When the dust settles, truth & logic about a coach's supposedly "unlimited authority" will become clear. Till then I'm amused at being pitted against my own who are the very best!"

The mention of "truth and logic about coach's supposed unlimited authority will become clear" raises question over the extent of power Gambhir enjoys within the Indian cricket leadership set-up. Since the beginning of his tenure in 2024, questions have been raised over how much power Gambhir has as a coach, and several trolls on social media have accused him of misusing his power in helping the rise of players like Shubman Gill (as an all format superstar, leader) and pacer Harshit Rana (a crucial member of Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2024 win), "mistreating" players like Rishabh Pant, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav in white-ball/Test cricket, and bringing in Morne Morkel and Ryan Ten Doeschate who were part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) coaching set-ups of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), two franchises he mentored.

Also, while Gambhir did not mention anyone in the post, the phrase, "I'm amused at being pitted against my own who are the very best!" could be a subtle acknowledgement of how he is taking notice of cricket fans speaking out against him for allegedly trying to sideline ODI-exclusive legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli before the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup in favour of younger talent. Since his tenure began, several die-hard fans of Rohit and Virat have alleged that a rift exists between Gambhir and 'Ro-Ko', two of India's biggest superstar cricketers, largely due to GG's vocal desire to see superstar culture end in Indian cricket.

Gambhir's tenure as a head coach has been marked by plenty of ups and downs. In T20Is, he has enjoyed immense success, winning the Asia Cup and not dropping a series so far, making his team favourites heading into the T20 World Cup starting from February 7 onwards.

On the other hand, in Test cricket, he has seen success in the form of a hard-fought 2-2 series draw in England under Shubman Gill's captaincy without legends Rohit, Virat and Ravichandran Ashwin and series wins over Bangladesh and West Indies at home. But surrenders at home to New Zealand in 2024 (first home Test series loss after 12 years) and South Africa last year, both of them being whitewashes, resulted in a lot of brickbats online.

In ODI cricket, his record has been mixed. While he has won the ICC Champions Trophy with Rohit Sharma as a captain last year, he has also registered series losses away from home to Sri Lanka and Australia and recently at home against New Zealand, giving the Kiwis their first ODI series win in India ever.

- ANI