Should India split coaching roles? Breaking down Gautam Gambhir’s red-ball and white-ball numbers
Debate grows on whether India should appoint separate red-ball and white-ball coaches. We decode Gautam Gambhir’s performance numbers to understand the best approach.
Gautam Gambhir (Image | BCCI on X)
Last Updated: 06.36 PM, Nov 26, 2025
Numbers hold a great significance in cricket. For batters, bowlers, head coaches, and everyone who is involved with a national or domestic team, the job of analysts is to provide the numbers for better understanding. So, if we look at the numbers of India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir in red ball cricket, he has lost five games out of nine on home turf. Hence, the win percentage is 44.44%.
The disaster doesn’t end there. In away Tests, where India used to dominate under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, Gambhir’s India has won just three out of 11 matches with a win percentage of 27.27%. Shocking results are due to various factors, but the head coach showed no remorse at the press conference. The Men in Blue are yet to win a series against giants like South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, or England under Gambhir.
|
Category |
Matches |
Wins |
Losses |
Draws |
Win % |
|
Home Tests |
9 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
44.44% |
|
Away Tests |
11 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
27.27% |
|
Total Tests |
20 |
7 |
11 |
2 |
35.00% |
Should BCCI look for split coaches?
A tough question that requires an answer before Indian Test cricket loses its charm completely is whether the BCCI should stick to one head coach for all formats or think about split coaches. Clearly, Gambhir’s stats don’t approve of him being a head coach in red-ball cricket. His stats have done down, even below Greg Chappell, who was considered one of the failed coaches in Indian history.
If we talk about the issues in the team, the starting point would be the failure to understand the pitch conditions. Apart from that, the kind of changes made to the team frequently is unacceptable. The rotation of the batters from match to match is extremely confusing for the audience, let alone the batters. Moreover, the selection isn’t that great either. Selection of players from IPL, and not domestic cricket, is not a good sign for Indian cricket.
As a white-ball coach, Gambhir is outstanding. Under him, India won the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup and the team looks in great touch. It most of the games, it looks like the players are ready to face the challenges and are well prepared. While a coach can't be blamed for the performance of the players on the field, he can surely be blamed for the preparations that happened before the games.
Considering all the factors mentioned above, BCCI should look for a better coach for red ball cricket who understands Indian cricket and the domestic setup, can scout talents from domestic matches, and can make a team that is worthy of rising again. Like the setting sun, the aura and dominance of Indian cricket is getting faded with time.
How to watch India vs South Africa, ODI series?
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