Afghanistan wicketkeeper and former KKR star Rahmanullah Gurbaz has leapt to Gautam Gambhir’s defense after the current Indian coach suffered the wrath of fans following India’s 0-2 Test series loss to South Africa. Gambhir endured a polarizing time as India’s coach as failures in red-ball cricket overshadowed his successes with the side.
Before losing to South Africa, India were humbled 0-3 by New Zealand and lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. These results meant that fans were calling for Gambhir to be sacked in the wake of losing the Guwahati Test. Speaking to PTI, Gurbaz said that the backlash made no sense to him and praised the former Indian opener as the best coach and person.
“If there are 1.4 billion people in your country, it is safe to say that 2-3 million will be against him. The rest are with Mr. Gautam and with Team India. There is no point in talking about them.”
“He’s the best coach and human being ever, mentor I’ve had in my career so far. I love the way he approaches things,” Gurbaz said.
Gurbaz also pointed out how India won the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup under Gambhir.
“India have just won Champions Trophy in ODI format, Asia Cup in T20 format. They have won a lot of series so one series cannot be blamed on them.”
“NOT STRICT BUT DISCIPLINED”
Gurbaz spent one season working alongside Gambhir at KKR in 2024 where they managed to win the IPL title. The Afghanistan wicketkeeper said that Gambhir has made sure that the environment for the players is easy and stress-free.
“I love the way he goes about his job. When you have a good environment, you will always be on top. He made the environment very easy for us, nothing stressful, nothing strict… and that’s why we won the tournament,” he said.
“He’s not strict, but he’s disciplined. He’s only strict when something goes against the discipline.”
Gambhir is currently with the Indian team as they face South Africa in the ODI series.
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Published on:
December 2, 2025
