Sreesanth questions Gautam Gambhir's coaching methods; backs THIS legend to be India's mentor

Sreesanth blamed Gautam Gambhir for India’s humiliating losses against New Zealand and South Africa in home tests.

Former Indian pacer S. Sreesanth has shared his views on Indian Cricket Team‘s dismal show in test cricket in recent years. A few years ago, India were the most dominant team in the longest format of the game, both at home and away.

Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India reached the final of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) in June 2021. However, they lost the crucial encounter against New Zealand but made an impact with their performance in tests over two years.

Under Rohit Sharma‘s leadership, the Indian Team once again booked a berth in the ICC World Test Championship 2023 final. This time, they lost to Australia by a huge margin of 209 runs and ended as runners-up once again.

Despite losing the final, India showcased a brilliant performance in the away series against big teams like Australia, England, and South Africa in the first two WTC cycles.

However, India’s dominance in Test cricket has diminished since Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach. For instance, India failed to qualify for the ICC WTC 2025 final due to a humiliating whitewash at home against New Zealand in 2024 and a loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia.

On Gambhir’s recommendations, Shubman Gill was nominated as India’s new Test skipper ahead of the WTC 2025-27 cycle, replacing Rohit Sharma. The move worked well at the start, with India levelling a five-match test series in England 2-2 last year.

However, they lost the home test series against South Africa in November 2025. Temba Bavuma & Co. crushed India in both games, while also handing them their biggest-ever loss by margin of runs in the 2nd test.

Sreesanth attacks Gautam Gambhir for India’s poor show in tests

Speaking on The Lallantop’s show ‘Guest in the Newsroom’, former Indian seamer Sreesanth was questioned about India’s woes in test cricket.

He made a scathing attack on head coach Gambhir, blaming him for putting unnecessary pressure on players. The 43-year-old also added that India need a mentor and backed MS Dhoni to take that role for the national team.

“Change the coach, friend. India needs a mentor, not a coach. You have to be a brother first. You can’t just laugh when you win and get angry when you lose. You’ve done well for the country, that’s great. That doesn’t mean others aren’t trying. Have a mentor over a coach,” said Sreesanth, who played 27 tests for India.

He credited Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson for India’s victory in the T20 World Cup 2026 and feels that Gambhir earned all the appreciation without playing a crucial role.

“When the team won the World Cup, all the credit went to Gambhir. But if Sanju Samson hadn’t been there, Suryakumar Yadav hadn’t captained, and the bowling changes hadn’t been made at the right time, would we have won the match?” “Was the coach making decisions on the field? It’s fine if we have a coach like Ashish Nehra, who remains involved,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sreesanth retired from all forms of international cricket in March 2022. However, he still plays in overseas franchise leagues.

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