Angry Gautam Gambhir Storms, Hurls Mouthful At His Own Team After South Africa Loss

Gambhir lashes out at Indian players [Source: X, AFP]

India entered the Super 8 match against South Africa as the favourites to clinch the match, and a potential berth in the semis; however, the South African side showed their ruthless class and outclassed the hosts to win the T20 World Cup clash by a margin of 76 runs in Ahmedabad.

India’s bowling lacked the cutting edge despite picking three early wickets, and their batters surrendered in front of the clinical South African bowlers. With a net run-rate of -3.800, India needs a miracle to go through to the semis, as the team needs to win their remaining two matches and also have to depend on other results.

Gambhir bashes Indian players after South Africa defeat

After a shambolic performance against South Africa, the Men in Blue are on the verge of elimination from the World Cup, and this has infuriated head coach Gautam Gambhir, who reportedly lost his cool with all his players.

As per reports by Ray Sportz, it was revealed that Gambhir was frustrated after India’s heavy defeat on Sunday, and he scolded the entire side for their humiliating performance, which has put their World Cup hopes in danger.

Rohan💫

@rohann__45

🚨Gautam Gambhir was furious and heavily scolded the players after the loss. After just one defeat he’s reacting like a frustrated fan. This is the time to back your players, not break their confidence. Moments like this make you miss Dravid even more.

Feb 25, 2026, 12:39 PM

Gambhir, an animated character, on and off the field, couldn’t swallow India’s performance, and this led to him expressing his anger at the entire team.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar Launches Fresh Attack On Gautam Gambhir, Team India For SA Defeat

Coach Gambhir under pressure to deliver

There was a sense of optimism when Gambhir was appointed as the head coach of the Indian team, but almost 1.5 years later, things have gone downhill for the Men in Blue. The Test team is in shambles, the ODI team looks decent on paper, but it was India’s T20 team that was the best in the world before the World Cup started.

Due to India’s poor performance in Tests, the Indian selectors have put pressure on Gambhir to deliver the goods in the T20 World Cup. His job remains under threat as India started the competition as the favourites, but now finds itself almost out of the tournament.

As a result, the T20 World Cup win is crucial for Gambhir to save his India coaching job, but a win from here on looks highly unlikely.

Gambhir's decision-making questioned in T20 World Cup

The former Indian cricketer is known for making out-of-the-box decisions, and while some of these have worked previously, most of them have failed in the T20 World Cup. He was heavily criticised for including Washington Sundar in the playing XI in place of Axar Patel.

Axar is India’s vice-captain in the T20 format, but the head coach decided to exclude him from the playing XI, and this decision was criticised by the fans.

Sundar failed to deliver against the Netherlands and against South Africa, he failed to pick up a solitary wicket, and with the bat, he scored just 11 off 11. In fact, when the required rate was climbing high, Gambhir made a tactical blunder by sending Washington at 5, and he derailed India’s chase.

Moreover, his constant backing of Tilak Varma despite repetitive failures has also come under scrutiny.

Also Read: West Indies Playing XI vs South Africa- T20 World Cup 2026, Super 8- Roston Chase In?