India’s historic ODI series loss against New Zealand has sparked a massive reaction from cricket fans on social media. On Sunday, January 18, Shubman Gill’s India conceded 41 runs at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The fans were unhappy with the result and hit out at head coach Gautam Gambhir after the loss.
Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as the head coach of the Indian team has been turbulent so far. While he has enjoyed unprecedented success in the T20I format, his team’s performances in the ODI and Test formats have been mediocre at best.
While India won the 2025 Champions Trophy under his leadership, the team also lost the ODI series in Sri Lanka, Australia and now at home as well. Cricket fans took to social media to point out what they described as chaos during Gambhir’s tenure with the team.
“Lost ODI series vs Sri Lanka. Faded in home Test series against NZ. Lost BGT. Forced Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma out of Test cricket. Almost lost England Test series. Took over Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Lost ODI series against Australia. Faded,” wrote a fan against South Africa after the new home Test against SENA. Lost 5/5 matches at home against SENA. Zealand.
IND vs NZ INDORE ODI: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Should Gautam Gambhir be sacked?
India will not play another ODI match in the next five months. As attention shifts to the T20 World Cup, the ODI series against New Zealand leaves a lingering question: is Gautam Gambhir the right fit for the Indian team heading into the Test World Cup and ODI World Cup in 2027?
The selectors and the top brass of the Indian cricket board are likely to take some tough calls during the five-month period when India will not play an ODI or a Test match. It would not be a surprise if there were personnel changes in both the playing group and management.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
January 18, 2026