 "AB de Villiers has said that he knew Gautam Gambhir as an emotional player during his playing years. AP/Reuters")
Is Gautam Gambhir an “emotional coach”? The question is doing rounds on social media after former South Africa captain AB de Villiers described the current Indian head coach as an emotional player and said that if he is the same as a coach, then it is not a “good thing to have”.
Gambhir is facing enormous backlash since India’s 0-2 series defeat at the hands of South Africa earlier this week. Fans have stormed social media with demands of the left-hander’s resignation and in Guwahati, the crowd chanted “ Gambhir haay haay ” after India’s defeat.
However, reports state that Gambhir will be continuing as head coach as BCCI are not in the mood of taking knee-jerk reactions.
Under Gambhir, Indian Test side has produced embarrassing results at home with South Africa and New Zealand both clean sweeping India in consecutive years. The former India opener has only been able to win Test series against Bangladesh and West Indies so far as the head coach.
De Villiers calls Gambhir ’emotional’
Talking to former India off-spinner R Ashwin on his YouTube channel, De Villiers said that he has known Gambhir as an emotional player.
“Speaking on behalf of the Indian side, it’s really difficult. I don’t know what GG is like when it comes to leadership. I’ve known him as an emotional player and if that is the case in the change room, generally an emotional coach is not a good thing to have. But it’s not to say he’s that kind of a coach and the kind of leader behind the scenes,” De Villiers said.
“There’s no right and wrong. Some players will feel comfortable with a former player. Some players will be comfortable with a coach that’s never played the game before but he’s got a lot of years of experience of coaching the game,” De Villiers added.
Quick Reads
View AllIndia’s next Test assignment is in Sri Lanka where Gill and Co will play two Test matches in August 2026.