Former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes Gautam Gambhir's tenure as the national team's head coach has been defined by both remarkable success and disappointing setbacks, with India's home Test series defeats to New Zealand and South Africa likely to remain a significant mark on his coaching record.
Gambhir has guided India to two major ICC titles - the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup this year, but his tenure as head coach has also been faced by tough Test series losses at home.
Jaffer said Gambhir's handling of certain players, including Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami, could also have been better.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Jaffer pointed to Suryakumar's exit after India's T20 World Cup triumph and the treatment of other players, including Shami, as areas where Gambhir's management could have been handled differently.
"Some individuals could have gotten better treatment, like Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), who was axed after winning the (T20) World Cup. There are other players as well, like Shami. Some things could have been better," Jaffer said.
"But otherwise, I don't think in white-ball cricket any blame can be put on him," Jaffer added.
However, Jaffer made it clear that he did not see Gambhir's record in white-ball cricket as a major concern, given India's success under his coaching.
New Zealand, South Africa Defeats A Major Setback
According to Jaffer, the two home Test series defeats will remain the biggest setbacks of Gambhir's coaching tenure.
"The mark of those two whitewash series will always be on him, without a doubt. Not just on his CV, but also on the captain and other players," he added.
India's 0-3 series defeat to New Zealand in October and November 2024 was particularly significant as it ended the team's 12-year run without a home Test series defeat.
India then suffered a 0-2 defeat to South Africa at home last year, dealing a blow to the team's chances of reaching the final of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
Jaffer said the nature of those defeats would continue to stand out on Gambhir's record, while adding that the responsibility for the setbacks did not rest with the head coach alone.
He noted that winning a Test series in India has traditionally been among the toughest challenges for visiting teams, making the losses to New Zealand and South Africa especially difficult for the Indian team.
The former India batter also suggested that India could have been in a stronger position in the WTC standings had they won those home series, and said there was considerable room for improvement in Test cricket.
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"Coming to India and beating them was a final frontier that not many teams had achieved. It was very bad for us to suddenly lose like that. He will definitely feel that had we won those series, we would be at the top of the WTC table," the 48-year-old added.
Although India's two ICC victories have improved Gambhir's white-ball record, Jaffer thinks the team's flaws in the longer format would need to be addressed going forward by both the players and the coaching staff.
"There is a lot of scope for improvement in Test cricket for him. Not just for him, but for the players also," Jaffer concluded.
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