Former batter AB de Villiers believes a coaching conundrum could be there for Team India after T20I captain Shreyas Iyer’s recent comments on interim head coach VVS Laxman. After India’s 3-0 T20I series win over Zimbabwe, Iyer praised Laxman, who replaced Gautam Gambhir as the head coach for the series. However, Iyer started his Team India captaincy stint poorly, with back-to-back T20I series losses to Ireland and England under Gambhir as head coach as well. Meanwhile, conversations around Laxman potentially replacing Gambhir as India’s fulltime head coach have also started doing the rounds on social media as well.

Addressing about this on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers 360, De Villiers said: “Shreyas Iyer was full of credit for VVS Laxman and the way he coached the team. He said that VVS allowed them to be free and the messaging was clear. Is there something boiling? Maybe there is a bit of heat on Gautam Gambhir as the players seem to enjoy VVS’ aura and presence in the change room.”

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AB de Villiers also believes VVS Laxman could be pushing Gautam Gambhir for the Indian head-coach role based on the team’s recent results. The Indian team have dominated under Laxman as head coach, including notable wins at the 2023 Asian Games and in the 2024 T20I series in South Africa as well.

“There seems to be a competition. You think you take a break and rest a little bit to man-manage yourself. And the next minute you realise that the players are enjoying someone else’s presence perhaps a bit more. Maybe there is something there with Laxman pushing Gambhir and forcing his hand too,” concluded AB de Villiers.