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

Gautam Gambhir's future as India coach in doubt [Source: AFP]According to emerging reports, Gautam Gambhir's future as India's head coach is highly doubtful following the team's embarrassing performance in Ireland and England. The Indian team has failed to win a single match on its ongoing UK tour, drawing a strong reaction from the BCCI. Led by Shreyas Iyer, India suffered a horrendous 2-0 defeat against the Irish before going down to their English counterparts with three straight losses in the five-match series. After the first T20I in Chester-le-Street was called off due to rain, India were outclassed across all departments in the subsequent encounters, with England taking an unassailable 3-0 lead. India's surrender in England draws flak for Gautam GambhirGautam Gambhir has received massive backlash for India's lacklustre performance on their UK tour. While Gambhir's several tactical calls, such as promoting Harshit Rana over Shivam Dube in the batting order and persisting with Washington Sundar despite his lean patch, were heavily criticised, the lack of adaptability ensured India continued to struggle on English soil, particularly in their batting department. Also Read: List Of All Shameful Firsts That India Achieved Under Gautam Gambhir’s CoachingIndia were already hit by injuries and the unavailability of some key players, including Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. However, they still had almost the same core group, which led them to an emphatic T20 World Cup triumph under Suryakumar Yadav's leadership. Despite having most of their match-winners at their disposal, the Men in Blue couldn't put up a fight, losing five T20I matches against Ireland and England combined. The team's torrid run on the UK tour has reportedly irked the BCCI, with the Indian board rethinking the retention of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach. BCCI to conduct performance review of players and Gautam GambhirAccording to ANI journalist Vipul Kashyap, Gambhir's tenure as the India head coach is under the scanner, with the BCCI set to review the performance of the players as well as the support staff in the Ireland and England T20Is. "Recent loss has triggered the performance review , board will scan the performance of players along with Coaching staff, although Gautam Gambhir contract till 2027 but now under scanner: Source BCCI," the report stated. vipul kashyap @kashyapvipul Breaking : Recent loss has triggered the performance review , board will scan the performance of players along with Coaching staff, although Gautam Gambhir contract till 2027 but now under scanner: Source BCCi ,#indvsEng A PTI report later confirmed that the BCCI will hold a performance review meeting with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar after the conclusion of the ODI series between India and England. "The BCCI is currently observing the performance of the Indian T20 team which has not been up to the mark in the ongoing series against England. Once the ODI series gets over on July 19 and the team comes back, we will have a review meeting with core members of the team to discuss what went wrong in England," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia was quoted as saying by PTI. Who could become India's head coach if BCCI sacks Gautam Gambhir?It's worth mentioning that Gautam Gambhir's contract as India's head coach is active till the 2027 World Cup. According to several reports, the former opening batter is keen to spearhead the Indian think tank in the 2028 T20 World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympics. However, Gambhir's questionable decisions could draw the curtains for him and lead to his premature exit if the BCCI finds him responsible for India's persistent rough patch in England. If Gautam Gambhir is sacked, VVS Laxman could be one of the frontrunners to replace him as the India head coach, having performed the role in the past. Also Read: David Warner To Take A U-Turn On International Retirement? Australian Drops Shocking Hint