New Delhi [India], January 24 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Rajeev Shukla said that head coach Gautam Gambhir has a firm grip on the team and is popular among the players.

Shukla, speaking to ANI, rubbished much of the social media chatter about Gambhir's stint as head coach of Team India, which has had its rocky moments. He also assured that despite the stuff said on social media about him by fans, he remains a popular coach among players.

Shukla said, 'Gautam Gambhir is still in control of the team. He is a coach. He is doing his work in that. Yes, why not? (on if he is a popular coach within the team) If we leave the test match, we are winning the rest of the series in ODIs and T20Is.'

'These days on social media, everyone is attacked. Nobody is spared. You lose a match and get criticised. You must also remember that when Sachin Tendulkar would fail during his playing days, he would also face flak from the media, even if he failed in one series. His past contributions and records were not highlighted. He was called 'Endulkar' at one point. If this country did not spare Sachin, then what are these other players?' he added.

Gautam's record as a head coach since taking over from Rahul Dravid in 2024 has been rocky, especially in Test cricket. Under him, India has won just seven Tests, lost 10 of them, including five at home and two have ended in a draw. While there have been moments of promise and joy, with a 2-2 draw in England against the Three Lions under the leadership of a young Shubman Gill last year, series wins over Bangladesh (in 2024) and West Indies (last year), there have been moments of shock and disappointment too.

In 2024, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and Gambhir, India lost their first home Test series in 12 years, with New Zealand whitewashing them 0-3 and outspinning them, outbatting them. This first-time whitewash at home was a jolt to a generation of fans who had witnessed the Indian Test empire standing strong, undefeated at home under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and for some time, under Rohit.

Later on, they also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia away from home by 1-3, surrendering the trophy for the first time in 10 years despite a lone warrior effort by pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who had a record-breaking series with 32 scalps in five matches.

A year later, after Kiwi humiliation, the World Test Champions, South Africa, also whitewashed India in a Test series, getting their first Test series win in India since the 1999-2000 season. The retirement of legends Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (before last year's tour to England) and Ravichandran Ashwin amid the tour to Australia) after decline in form, also came under Gambhir's era, with several fans criticising the coach for allegedly forcing them into retirement.

Currently, India's chances to qualify for the World Test Championship final look in jeopardy, with India ranked at sixth place in the table with four wins, losses, and a draw.

In ODIs, India has lost away series to Sri Lanka (in 2024) and Australia (last year), and recently registered its first home series loss to New Zealand this month, despite leading the series 1-0 at one point, with back-to-back tons from Daryl Mitchell sinking India. But India, under Rohit-Gambhir, had a brilliant unbeaten run in the ICC Champions Trophy last year and series wins over England and South Africa at home.

Under Gambhir, India has played 20 ODIs, winning 12, losing seven and tying one.

However, the best part of Gambhir's tenure as a head coach has been his run with the T20I team, as they are yet to drop a series heading into the T20 World Cup in February. Since his first T20I as a coach in South Africa, they have played 33 T20Is, winning 25, losing just four and two each ending in a tie and no results. India also enjoyed an undefeated run at the Asia Cup last year, beating Pakistan in a trilogy of entertaining matches, including the final. The rise of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Varun Chakravarthy as valuable T20I stars has been a heartening aspect of his coaching.

Now, India's most significant challenge ahead is not Test cricket for a while, but defending their T20 World Cup crown, won under Rohit Sharma's captaincy in 2024, with a new-look team led by Suryakumar Yadav in the tournament starting on February 7.

India will start off their campaign against the USA on the same day in Mumbai and have been placed alongside Pakistan, Namibia, the Netherlands and the USA in Group A. Playing their first T20 World Cup in the absence of stalwarts Rohit and Virat for the first time in several years in front of a home crowd would be an interesting challenge for the Men in Blue. (ANI)