Gautam Gambhir has been under a lot of pressure after a few disappointing results for the Indian cricket team in Test cricket. Amid all the speculations, the BCCI is not planning to part ways with the current head coach Gambhir, as the board's vice-president Rajiv Shukla came up with a clarification.
Gambhir took over the role of India's head coach after Rahul Dravid's tenure came to an end after the T20 World Cup 2024. Since then, India have only managed to win seven out of 19 Tests played under Gautam Gambhir. India won one Test in Australia last year and two in England earlier this year, but also suffered embarrassing 0-3 and 0-2 whitewash series defeats against New Zealand and South Africa, respectively, at home.
Gambhir has lost five home Tests so far, which is the most for any Indian head coach, and he is also the only Indian head coach to get whitewashed twice in a home Test series.
There have been calls from the fans as well as from a few experts that Gambhir should be removed from the head coach role, at least for the Test format. But the BCCI is not looking to part ways with Gambhir. "I want to make it very clear regarding the speculation circulating in the media about head coach Gautam Gambhir. The BCCI secretary (Devajit Saikia) has also made it very clear that there is no plan to remove or bring in a new head coach for India," BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla said.
Notably, Gambhir’s current contract as India's head coach runs till November 2027, and it looks like he will remain in charge of the team till then. Earlier, the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed the reports of the board planning to bring in VVS Laxman as Gambhir’s replacement in Tests.
India will next play a Test series in August 2026 against Sri Lanka and then travel to New Zealand for a two-match Test series. India’s sixth and final series of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle will be played against Australia in the first quarter of 2027.