Gautam Gambhir: With rising influence and senior exits, India coach faces his toughest test yet

When Gautam Gambhir was announced as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team in July 2024, there was excitement, debate, and a fair bit of tension in the air. Just a few months later, Gambhir led India to an ICC Champions Trophy win and silenced his critics. But while that white-ball triumph earned him praise, it is red-ball cricket that is really going to test him.

As India prepare to take on England, all eyes are not just on the young squad led by Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, but on the man who is trying to rebuild a team in transition. For Gambhir, it is going to be a career-defining challenge as it will shape how his tenure as head coach will be remembered. The five-match Test series will mark the start of the new World Test Championship cycle for India.

A man against star culture

Gambhir has always been vocal about cricket being a team game and not about individual stars. During his time as a commentator, Gambhir had openly spoken against ‘star culture’ and the media hype around personalities instead of performance. Coincidentally, the Indian team is entering the new era without two of its biggest icons, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as Gambhir starts this crucial phase of his coaching career.

Both Rohit and Kohli have stepped away from red-ball cricket entirely. They announced their retirement last month, just days before India unveiled its squad for the England series. Whether Gambhir wanted this transition or not is still up for debate, but one clear thing is that he now has exactly what he always stood for: a young team with no big personalities, except for Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja.

The red-ball challenge

While Gambhir’s tactical acumen and leadership arguably helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lift their third IPL trophy in 2024 and India win the Champions Trophy in 2025, his coaching journey in Test cricket has had a rocky start. India suffered historic setbacks under his coaching, a first-ever home Test series loss to New Zealand and a Border-Gavaskar Trophy defeat to Australia after nine years of dominance.

Those losses also meant India missed out on a spot in the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) final. The critics started murmuring that Gambhir is too new to this role and may not be able to head India in red-ball cricket. Note, Gambhir has no formal coaching background and has only played mentorship roles in the IPL. Questions started emerging about whether he can guide a young team through the complexities of Test cricket.

No more stars, no more excuses

When Gambhir was appointed the head coach of the Indian team, he was just 42 years old. He is the youngest-ever head coach in Indian cricket’s history. He had retired from professional cricket just six years ago. One of the advantages of this is that Gambhir might be more relatable in the Indian dressing room, which is now filled with young stars.

His hot and cold relationship with former skipper Virat Kohli is well documented, and Rohit Sharma had reportedly preferred Rahul Dravid to stay on a little longer after they won the T20 World Cup in 2024. With both Kohli and Rohit now out of the Test scene, Gambhir should ideally have more control over the team. But it also leaves him with fewer excuses.

The India vs England series gives him a clean slate and full command. Gambhir will have to prove that he can build a team culture and guide inexperienced players to win big matches over five days, not just 50 or 20 overs. Gambhir now has the team he wanted, and there will be no influence from big-name players, allowing him to fully apply his tactical prowess and show what he can do.

Gambhir must strike right balance with Gill

Gambhir will obviously need his young team to step up to the challenge in England, which is not always considered the easiest place to tour for subcontinent sides. Indian batters will have to play their best cricket if they want to break their long-standing record of not winning a Test series in England. That said, the bowlers will also need to bring out their A-game for India to succeed.

The onus will be on Gambhir, but eyes will also be on the young Indian team led by Gill, who is captaining India for the first time. Another key responsibility for Gambhir will be to guide Gill in his maiden endeavour and help him create the right environment, which is crucial for any winning side. If Gambhir and Gill can strike the right balance early on, it will lay a solid foundation going into the new WTC cycle.