India’s 2–0 Test defeat to South Africa has left the cricket ecosystem in a restless state. The moment that intensified everything was the press conference after the Guwahati Test, where Gautam Gambhir looked noticeably unsettled. For someone known for deliberate clarity, firm responses and an unflinching sense of control, the hesitations and contradictions felt unusual. Fans were not sure how to react. Some were amused, some were alarmed, but most agreed they had never seen Gambhir look this unsure in public.
This sudden shift made an old revelation feel newly relevant. Former India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, in his 2019 book The Barefoot Coach, had described Gambhir as one of the most insecure players he had worked with. It is a description that clashes sharply with the image of the intense, combative opener who wore determination on his sleeves. In the emotional aftermath of the Guwahati loss, Upton’s words resurfaced with a different energy.
Yet during that same press conference, Gambhir eventually found his natural voice. Speaking about responsibility in tough moments, he said,
“It comes from care. How much do you care about the dressing room and the team. Accountability cannot be taught. You can work on skills and talk about the mental aspect, but when you walk in to bat, if the team is not ahead of yourself, collapses will happen.”
This was the Gambhir people recognised again: intense, direct and sharply aware of standards.
The Gambhir Paradox
In The Barefoot Coach, Upton uses Gambhir as a detailed case study to challenge the idea that elite athletes must always appear mentally unshakeable. He writes,
“Gautam Gambhir was perhaps one of the weakest and mentally most insecure cricketers I worked with. He was constantly battling his inner world and questioning himself. His mind could be a noisy place, often filled with doubt during quiet moments.”
Upton immediately counters his own statement by highlighting the remarkable way Gambhir performed despite those struggles.
“But at the same time, he was one of the best, most determined and most successful Test batsmen in the world. His ability to perform under pressure, often during India’s toughest overseas tours, showed how extraordinary his competitive spirit was.”
Upton expands further on how difficult and rewarding Gambhir was to work with.
“I did some of my best and also some of my most ineffective mental conditioning work with him. He could be unreachable one day and incredibly receptive the next. His inner standards were brutal. When he scored 150, he would be disappointed for not scoring 200.”
These longer passages in the book paint a layered portrait. Gambhir’s insecurities did not block his greatness. In Upton’s telling, they sharpened it.
Gambhir’s view: Turning imperfection into drive
When Upton’s comments first became public, Gambhir did not push back. Instead, he offered context with disarming honesty. He said, “My insecurities as a cricketer are well documented. Paddy Upton is a good man and there is nothing he wrote with any wrong intention. It is not as if he said something that people had not seen in me before.”
He clarified further that what outsiders called insecurity was often a reflection of his high expectations from himself and from Indian cricket. To him, it was hunger, not weakness.
Why it resonates today
Gambhir’s shaky press conference raised questions, but his core remains unchanged. The qualities Upton once described, the intensity and constant self-questioning, are the same qualities that pushed Gambhir through tough tours, through pressure matches and through moments that defined Indian cricket.
After a bruising Test series, India need reflection, honesty and a demanding leader. The layered, imperfect, fiercely driven version of Gambhir that Upton described might be exactly what the moment calls for.
– Ends
