Gautam Gambhir Report Card: Rating India Head Coach’s Performance After 2 Years

Gautam Gambhir - (Source: AFP)

On Thursday, July 9, Gautam Gambhir celebrated his 2nd anniversary as India head coach. The celebrations were cut short because the Men in Blue suffered a 9-wicket defeat against England, their first-ever series defeat in England.

In the past two years, Gautam Gambhir has enjoyed several highs and lows. The former India opener is the only India head coach to win two ICC titles, but also the only head coach to lose a T20I series in Ireland and England.

No matter what, Gautam Gambhir often hogs the headlines and given how the UK tour has gone, the fans are right to express their anger on social media. The 44-year-old, who has his job until the 2027 ODI World Cup, is under the scanner as fans are demanding his resignation.

Nonetheless, this article will rate Gautam Gambhir’s stint with the Indian team as the head coach and determine whether the BCCI should look for a replacement or continue to back the southpaw.

Rating Gautam Gambhir's Tenure With Team India

Tests

List Of Series & Results

Gambhir’s first Test assignment as India’s head coach came at home against Bangladesh, and it started positively with a 2-0 win over the Tigers. Since then, Gambhir has coached India in 7 Test series - 5 Home and 2 away. 

India have lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and tied the 5-match series against England (2-2). Now, talking about the home series, India have won only against West Indies and a one-off Test against Afghanistan.

The biggest embarrassment arrived when India lost at home to New Zealand and later South Africa, which both series resulted in clean-sweep.

• India Beat Bangladesh (2-0)
• India Lost To New Zealand (0-3)
• India Lost To Australia (1-3)
• India Drew Against England (2-2)
• India Beat West Indies (2-0)
• India Lost against South Africa (0-2)
• India Beat Afghanistan (1-0)

(Gautam Gambhir's Performance As India's Test Head Coach)

Positives

1. It is quite difficult to think of positives in Test cricket under Gautam Gambhir's tenure as head coach. One thing that still comes to mind is Shubman Gill's appointment as Test captain.

Also Read: Cricket Australia Confirms BBL Opener In India, IPL To Be Shifted To Australia

Prior to the leadership role, Gill only averaged 35.05 in Test cricket. However, as soon as he donned the leader's hat, the right-handed batter's averaged jumped to 82.76, which is a positive news for the Indian cricket fans.

2. India were not performing well in England for the longest time and under Gautam Gambhir, the Shubman Gill-led side came really close to clinching their first-ever Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as they tied the series 2-2.

Negatives

-Losing Two Test series at Home consecutively that too a clean sweep. India are known for their home dominance and under Gautam Gambhir, the fear has faded. 

-First Home Defeat to New Zealand in 12 Years. The Kiwis travelled to India for a two-match Test series and handed the then Rohit Sharma-led team, two consecutive defeats, resulting in India's 1st home Test series defeat in 12 years.

-Lost Border-Gavaskar Trophy After a Decade: India won the famous 2021-22 Border Gavaskar Trophy and the same was expected under Gambhir. However, the team suffered a brutal 1-3 series defeat, which led to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's Test retirement as well.

-Failed to Reach WTC Final for First Time - India have reached the WTC final twice since the tournament's inception. However, for the first time under the former India opener, the two-time runners-up failed to go through.

Key Moments Under Gautam Gambhir's Tenure As Test Head Coach

-Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's Abrupt Test Retirement
- Shubman Gill's Appointment As Test Captain
- Fight With Ground Curator In England

Biggest Highs And Lows In 2 Years

High: Draw With England (2-2) in England
Low: Losing Two Straight Test series at home

Rating: 3/10

ODIs

List Of Series & Results

Gautam Gambhir's first tenure as India head coach in ODIs was the Sri Lanka tour. It started off on a negative note as India suffered 0-2 series defeat. Since then, India have played 6 series and an ICC event in the fifty-over format.

Under Gambhir, India lifted their 3rd Champions Trophy title when they beat New Zealand in the final in Dubai in 2025. It was a pretty impressive tournament and India didn't lose a single game. 

Talking about the bilateral series, India have lost 2 out of 6 series. India have been dominant at home and lost both their series away from home - Sri Lanka and Australia.

• Lost to Sri Lanka  (0-2)
• Won against England (3-0)
• Champions Trophy winners (Won 5 matches)
• Lost to Australia (1-2)
• Won against South Africa (2-1)
• Lost against New Zealand (1-2)
• Won against Afghanistan (3-0)

(Gautam Gambhir's Performance As India's ODI Head Coach)

Positives

1. India won a Champions Trophy after 12 years. Not only did India clinch the title but they did it in style without losing a single match. 

2. Beat England in India - India extended their good record against The Three Lions, beating them at home 3-0. Notably, India registered a clean sweep against England for the first time since 2011. 

3. Promoting Nitish Kumar Reddy - Gautam Gambhir has been an admirer of Nitish Kumar Reddy and his grooming has helped India have an alternate for Hardik Pandya. The MI captain is having a rough time keeping up with injuries and with ODI World Cup coming up, India need a back-up ready.

Also Read: Team India Share Verdict On Shreyas Iyer’s Future As Captain

4. Great Dominance At Home - Unlike Tests, the India head coach has lost just one ODI series at home against New Zealand. He has been in the dressing room for four home ODI series and won three.

Negatives

1. Unnecessary Uncertainty Around Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli - The 2027 World Cup is 18 months away and there is a chatter that Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar want the two veterans to prove themself and audition for the spot. It has led to an Unnecessary drama and also an awkward situation within the dressing room.

2. Illogical Squad Rotation - The biggest negtive of Gautam Gambhir so far has been his illogical squad rotation. There is no security for the players and they themselves are confused about their batting order or even place in the team.

Since the 44-year-old has taken over, the team selection has become quite difficult to predict. As seen in the recent T20Is, Harshit Rana was sent to bat above Shivam Dube in the powerplay, which drew a lot of flak.

Key Moments Under Gautam Gambhir's Tenure As ODI Head Coach

- Winning Champions Trophy After 12 Years

- Shubman Gill's Appointment As ODI Captain

- Clean Sweep England At Home

Biggest Highs And Lows In 2 Years

High: Winning Champions Trophy 2025

Low: Lost To Sri Lanka After 27 years

Rating: 7.5/10

T20Is

List Of Series & Results

Gautam Gambhir's first T20I assignment was also in Sri Lanka where Men in Blue thrashed the hosts 3-0. T20Is is Gautam Gambhir's best format as a coach as he also led India to their 3rd T20 World Cup title, becoming the first India head coach to win 2 ICC titles.

Overall, Gambhir has managed India in 12 series in T20Is, including T20 World Cup and Asia Cup 2025. 

Also Read: Why Did India Lose T20I Series Vs England? Biggest Reasons Decoded

Before the ongoing UK Tour, India had never lost a T20I series or tournament under Gautam Gambhir, but the last two series have turned things around. At present, India are winless in 6 matches, a feat they have never scripted before in the shortest format of the game.

• India beat Sri Lanka (3-0)
• India beat Bangladesh (3-0)
• India beat South Africa (3-1)
• India beat England (4-1)
• India won Asia Cup 2025 (7 matches)
• India beat Australia (2-1)
• India beat South Africa (3-1)
• India beat New Zealand (4-1)
• India won T20 World Cup 2026 (Won 8 matches, lost 1)
• India lost to Ireland (0-2)
• India Lost To England (0-3)
  

(Gautam Gambhir's Performance As India's T20I Head Coach)

Positives

India have been dominant under Gautam Gambhir in T20Is. From the 2024-2026 T20 World Cup cycle, the former India opener didn't lose a single series. 

The Gautam Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav coach duo has a win percentage of 82.2% which is quite impressive.

Gautam Gambhir also guided India to two major trophies - T20 World Cup 2026 and Asia Cup 2025.

Aggressive Intent - Gautam Gambhir infused the mindset in the players that he does not want long slow knocks but valuable 30, 40s from every player. The mindset has helped India.

Negatives

-Removing Suryakumar Yadav as T20I abruptly. Notably, there was no communication and SKY was left out of the team right after the T20 World Cup final.

 - Didn't get to prove his coaching style in SENA nations. From 2024-2026 T20 World Cup cycle, it felt that team was on auto-pilot mode and there weren't too many matches held in Australia, New Zealand or England. Hence, the recent downfall in UK.

Key Moments Under Gautam Gambhir's Tenure As T20I Head Coach

- Winning T20 World Cup 2026

-Winning Asia Cup 2025

-Winning T20I series in South Africa, Australia

Biggest Highs And Lows In 2 Years

High: T20 World Cup 2026

Low: Win-less in last 6 T20Is

Rating: 8.5/10

Conclusion

Gautam Gambhir is a great coach and has proved that with two ICC titles. However, he also has a lot of problems and is vulnerable so to say. Firstly, the team that won the T20 World Cup 2026 was mostly the one that was built around the 2024 cycle under Rahul Dravid.

Further, the side suddenly collapsed under transition when thrown the England challenge. To top that, random decisions like constant changes in the batting order has certainly not made him the fan favourite.

Apart from T20Is, Gambhir has been average in ODIs and poor as a Test coach. Right now the focus in 2027 ODI World Cup and it has been 16 years since lifting the prestigious title in 2011. Therefore, the board need to look at his tenure from that lens.

At present, the team requires stability, clear guidance, security, nice atmosphere and a coach who doesn't carry a 'My Way or a High Way' attitude. Therefore, its time for Gautam Gambhir to step aside.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir's Future As India Head Coach In Doubt; BCCI Cracks The Whip