Sourav Ganguly has said that Gautam Gambhir’s “real test” is a year away, which is the ODI World Cup in 2027. Gambhir became the first India coach to win two ICC tropies, first the Champions Trophy in 2025 and last month the T20 World Cup.
“His real test in white ball is going to be in South Africa in 2027. Conditions there will test him but I am confident he will get it right with the team he has,” Ganguly was quoted saying in an interview on Money Control.
India after an unbeaten run lost to Australia in the finals of the 2023 World Cup. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who are only playing the ODI format, have one last crack for World Cup trophy next year. Gambhir, who played a key role in India’s 2011 World Cup winning campaign, has a great chance to add another ICC title as India coach.
The former India captain under whom India finished runners-up in the 2003 edition of the World Cup, wants Gambhir and Team India to do well in Test cricket.
“In red ball, he needs to get better. And the way to do it is to think less about the wicket. He needs to get the wicket out of his system. Take the England series. He couldn’t do anything about the wicket and you can see the results. He doesn’t need to play on turners at home. Good wickets will produce good results,” Ganguly said.
However, Ganguly also backed Gambhir’s coaching credentials and is optimistic about the team’s success in the future.
“Gautam is a very good coach. If you remember I said on your platform ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy that you need to give the man some time. As white ball coach he is very good especially in these conditions. He has a very good team and is a very good coach,” Ganguly added.
