Former India batter Manoj Tiwary reckons the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will take the tough call of sacking head coach Gautam Gambhir if the T20 World Cup title defence doesn’t go according to plan and the side fails to win the title on home soil. Under Gambhir, India are yet to lose a single bilateral series in the T20 format; however, the pressure is firmly on the former India opening batter considering the team’s dwindling returns in the other two formats – Tests and ODIs.
Ever since Gambhir took over as the head coach in July 2024, India have lost two home Test series against New Zealand and South Africa. Not just this, India recently went down to a depleted Kiwi lineup in the three-match ODI series. Hence, the T20 World Cup is of utmost importance to Gambhir, and a campaign that goes south may not yield good results for the current coach’s future.
Tiwary, who has been a vocal critic of Gambhir and his coaching methods, said that the two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champion might be axed if Suryakumar Yadav and his team are unable to win the 20-team competition, which gets underway on February 7.
“If India doesn’t win the T20 World Cup, then I think that the BCCI should take a big and difficult decision regarding Gautam Gambhir. The BCCI secretary has already stated that Gambhir will continue until his contract expires, and there is no question of removing him,” Tiwary told InsideSport.
“But I think the 2026 T20 World Cup, if the result doesn’t come in this and then the BCCI will remove him and take a big call,” he added.
India are placed in Group A for the T20 World Cup alongside Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands and the USA. The hosts will begin their title defence on February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium against the US.
BCCI should convince Laxman
Tiwary also believes that the BCCI should look to convince former India batter VVS Laxman to take up the role of the head coach if Gambhir is shown the door in the future. It is worth mentioning that Laxman used to accompany the senior men’s team on tours whenever the previous coach, Rahul Dravid, was unavailable.
Tiwary reckons Laxman has all the experience in the world hence he should be the ideal man to take the reins over from Gambhir.
“I think it has to be a process-driven thing. When Rahul Dravid was the coach and didn’t go on certain tours, VVS Laxman used to go. So he was the natural choice,” said Tiwary.
“I think the BCCI should look to convince Laxman because he is a level-headed guy and he’s a good human being. He has the experience of coaching as well, so BCCI should look to convince him,” he added.
