Gautam Gambhir’s role as head coach has come under severe scrutiny after India’s crushing defeat to South Africa in their first Super Eight match of the T20 World Cup 2026. In order to qualify to the semifinal stage, the Suryakumar-Yadav led team has to win their remaining Super Eight games against Zimbabwe and West Indies. Even then there is no guarantee for them to progress to the semis.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth was blunt in his criticism and slammed Gambhir for the strategies that backfired for India in such a crucial match. The former India opener also questioned the logic behind dropping Axar Patel
“I am not sure what Gautam Gambhir does. Shouldn’t he be the one strategising and deciding the 11? He will be doomed if he continues with strategies like these. India are now in a position where they have to look at all other matches and hope for favorable results. After taking a beating, Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav are talking. What are you talking about after making a decision like dropping Axar Patel?” Srikkanth was quoted saying on his YouTube channel.
The 1983 World Cup winner was also amused that how could the vice-captain (Axar) was dropped for the game and previously it was Shubman Gill who was also the vice-captain dropped from the T20I side.
“You have Gambhir as your coach and he’s surrounded by several other coaches. Can’t all of them make simple decisions? Will anyone drop Axar Patel? He’s the vice captain. It looks like whoever is the vice captain of the Indian T20 side will be dropped. The same thing happened to Shubman Gill. Hereafter, no one will want to be the vice captain in T20Is. Those who are vice captains seem to go out of the team,” Srikkanth added.
Srikkanth said that the loss to South Africa was one of the worst defeats in recent times.
“This is one of the most embarrassing defeats in the history of Indian cricket in T20s. Let’s not try to sugarcoat this loss. This is the worst loss apart from the 2022 semifinal. Because of this, the match against Zimbabwe has become crucial. Suddenly, even the Zimbabwe-West Indies match has become important for India. I wonder who India will pray for. But for starters, they should pray for themselves,” Srikkanth said.
India are scheduled to play their second Super Eight clash against Zimbabwe on Feb 26 in Chennai, followed by a clash against the West Indies on March 1 in Kolkata.
