Former India pacer S Sreesanth has launched a sharp attack on head coach Gautam Gambhir during the ongoing home ODI series against Afghanistan, taking aim at the growing credit Gambhir has received for India’s recent success. According to Sreesanth, the players on the field deserve far more recognition than the man in the dugout, especially after India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph.

India entered the tournament as one of the clear favourites and created history by becoming the first side to win back-to-back T20 World Cup titles. It also marked Gambhir’s second major ICC success as head coach, after the 2025 Champions Trophy. But Sreesanth was quick to dismiss the idea that the coach alone deserved the applause.

Speaking on The Lallantop show Guest in the Newsroom, Sreesanth said, via Hindustan Times: “When the team won the World Cup, all the credit went to Gambhir. But if Sanju Samson hadn’t been there, Suryakumar Yadav hadn’t captained, and the bowling changes hadn’t been made at the right time, would we have won the match? Was the coach making decisions on the field? It’s fine if we have a coach like Ashish Nehra, who remains involved.”

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The former India fast bowler, who was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup-winning squads alongside Gambhir, also blamed the current head coach for India’s recent struggles in Test cricket.

India’s red-ball decline under Gambhir has been difficult to ignore. After dominating at home for more than a decade, the team have now suffered two home Test whitewashes in their last four series. They were beaten 0-3 by New Zealand in late 2024 and then lost 0-2 to South Africa a year later.

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“Change the coach, friend. India needs a mentor, not a coach. Team India needs a mentor like Dhoni. You have to be a brother first. You can’t just laugh when you win and get angry when you lose. You’ve done well for the country, that’s great. That doesn’t mean others aren’t trying. Have a mentor over a coach,” S Sreesanth said.

India also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 to Australia in early 2025, which meant they missed out on the 2025 World Test Championship final for the first time in the event’s history.