BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has affirmed that 44-year-old head coach Gautam Gambhir will remain the team’s red-ball coach despite rumors over his future in the Test format.
His reply followed rumors that the BCCI and legendary batsman VVS Laxman had discussed the position.
“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 Gambhir or bring in a new head coach for India,” Shukla said.
Saikia had previously refuted reports that the Board was actively looking to replace Gambhir, who was named head coach for all formats in July 2024.
“This is totally incorrect news going on. This is totally speculative news. Some very reputed news agencies are also flashing the news. There is no truth to it. BCCI straightaway denies. People can think all they want, but BCCI has not taken any steps. This is somebody’s figment of imagination; there is no truth in it, and I cannot say anything except that this is factually incorrect and baseless news,” Saikia said.
Gambhir’s contract is expected to last until at least 2027, thus it is safe to say that the former opener’s place is secure for the time being given the support of the BCCI top brass.
Following India’s recent Test series defeats, there was more conjecture about Gambhir’s future, which prompted the BCCI to conduct a thorough performance evaluation.
India had a strong start under Gambhir, winning the series 2-0 at home against Bangladesh, but lost the next two series to Australia and New Zealand.
They then won the series at home against the West Indies 2-0 after drawing the away series against England 2-2. However, India’s 0-2 loss to South Africa was one of their worst home Test series losses and their second home whitewash in a year.
Following the team’s dismal performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, the BCCI made changes to the support staff in April 2025, firing trainer Soham Desai, fielding coach T Dilip, and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
Defending the T20 World Cup with a revamped squad under Suryakumar Yadav will be Gambhir’s next big task.
India will begin their campaign against the USA in the tournament’s opening match in Mumbai on February 7. They were drawn with Pakistan, Namibia, the Netherlands, and the USA in Group A.
