Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has reacted to his detractors, including commentators who had questioned him in the wake of his appointment. Gambhir, who took over Rahul Dravid's position last July, was tired and accepted board members who consider Indian cricket their "private property."
This was the first official statement by Gambhir as a coach after being appointed. It came in the wake of successful tenure of his at Kolkata Knight Riders, where he led the team to an IPL title in 2024 to claim their third title in a decade.
But his time as the Indian coach has been mixed fortunes. During his rule, India suffered a record 3-0 home whitewash against New Zealand and a 3-1 series defeat to Australia, forcing the Indian team to lose the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade and failing to qualify for the World Test Championship final for the first time.
Despite all these disappointments, the Indian team made a comeback by winning the Champions Trophy in Dubai, beating New Zealand in the final to achieve their third title in the tournament's history.
Looking back on his coaching career, Gambhir accepted the nature of ups and downs. He further added, "When I began this job, I was well aware that there will always be highs and lows. It was on lines. You get criticized on a daily basis depending on how the Indian team is doing. There will always be criticism and there will always be praise. I am completely okay with it because my job is to make the country proud with all the players, and that will go on till the last day of my coaching life."
Gambhir also ensured that even though he is criticized every time the results do not favor India, he gets annoyed with the attitude of certain veteran commentators. "It has been eight months since I joined the job, and if the verdict is not in our favor, then I'm very glad to be pilloried. There are certain people sitting in the commentary box for 25 years and feel Indian cricket is their personal property. It's not. It's the property of the people of this country," Gambhir told on his trip to the ABP India At 2047 Summit on Tuesday.
He had aimed at those individuals who had personally attacked him, questioning his coaching skills and even his Champions Trophy winning money. He came back, "They've questioned my coaching, records, and even my Champions Trophy award money." I don't have to tell anyone where I've spent my money, but the nation should know that these people have turned into NRIs and earning money from India but not paying tax here. I am an Indian and shall remain so until my dying breath.
In a final, searing aside, Gambhir used a proverb to highlight the hypocrisy of his critics: "Those whose own houses are made of cardboard should think not a thousand times but a million times before throwing stones at others' houses."
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