"They're going to come after Gautam Gambhir" - Former England spinner's huge claim on Team India head coach ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England spinner Monty Panesar believes Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir will come under massive criticism if the side continues to struggle in the ongoing 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. India lost the series opener in Leeds by five wickets despite stellar batting performances in both innings.

Trailing 0-1 in the best-of-five affair, the visitors are in a precarious position heading into the second Test at Edgbaston, starting July 2. India failed to defend 371 on the final day of the opening Test, prompting Panesar to question Gambhir's ability to build a well-oiled bowling unit for the conditions in England.

In an interview with IANS, Panesar said (via The Hawk):

"The problem is that if Gautam has the ability to make his team into a good batting unit, he then needs to show the ability can make the team into a good bowling unit. Fans are going to troll. They're going to come after Gautam Gambhir. When India were 400 plus, India should have won the Test match."

He added:

"But the question is, 'Is Gautam Gambhir a good coach to make the bowling good? Does he have the ability? ' He needs to show that. He needs to now think, right, I know how to get the batting to fire, but as a coach, can I pick the team to take 20 wickets?"

Panesar further added that the ongoing England series could play a role in Gambhir's future as India's Test coach.

"That's his biggest challenge right now in England, and if he is not able to demonstrate that, then I think the BCCI will slowly, Test by Test match, assess him, and they'll just think, you know, what should we do after the end of the series? His biggest challenge is going to be to pick the right attack for every venue to take 20 wickets," he said.

The Leeds loss was India's second consecutive in England, where they failed to defend a total over 370 in the final innings, dating back to the series finale at Edgbaston in 2022.

Team India have struggled in Tests under Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir's head-coaching tenure has gotten off to a dismal start in the Test format. While India have enjoyed incredible success in the two white-ball formats over the past year under Gambhir, their Test record has left plenty to be desired.

After a 2-0 home series win over Bangladesh, India suffered an embarrassing 0-3 loss to New Zealand at home. The results trended further south when the Asian giants blew the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia with a 1-3 series defeat.

Their most recent loss in Headingley means India have lost seven out of their last nine Test outings under Gambhir.