'Not Every Player Comfortable With Gambhir': Ex-India Star Makes Big Claim

New Delhi: The atmosphere inside Team India is not looking good these days. What former cricketer Atul Wassan said while sitting on a YouTube show created a stir in the cricket world. He clearly said that the strict attitude of head coach Gautam Gambhir is not being liked by every player. No one's name was taken, but the hint was very clear.

What exactly did Wassan say?

Listening to Wassan, it seemed that he had been suppressing this thing in his mind for a long time. He said that when the nature of the coach is very strict then not every player is comfortable with him. It was also said that no one says anything during victory but as soon as there is defeat, everything starts coming out. The biggest thing he said is that he knows one or two players who are not happy with Gambhir's style but are unable to muster the courage to come forward and speak out.

This is not the first time that tension between the two has come to light. When Wassan was the selector in Delhi cricket, Gambhir was removed from the captaincy of Delhi. Gambhir himself had then said that he was not even informed properly. So this is also an old rivalry and it is important to understand Wassan's latest statement from this perspective.

What happened after Gambhir became the coach?

In July 2024, Gambhir took charge of the coaching of Team India in place of Rahul Dravid. The start was explosive, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup—titles kept coming one after the other. But the story was different in Test cricket. New Zealand and South Africa were defeated at home and Australia snatched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after ten years. These defeats raised questions on Gambhir's coaching style.

How many changes took place in the team?

During this period, such changes took place in Indian cricket that had never happened so quickly before. Ashwin retired midway through the Australia tour. Virat and Rohit said goodbye to Test cricket. Rohit was also removed from the ODI captaincy and Shubman Gill was promoted. If so many changes come together, there will definitely be uneasiness in the dressing room.