Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s cryptic tweet in response to Shashi Tharoor sparked a social media storm over the coach’s authority. Veteran Ajinkya Rahane urged Gambhir to avoid social media and focus on the team ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Indian team head coach Gautama Gambhir He created a social media storm with his cryptic tweet in response to Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s praise ahead of the first T20I series against New Zealand at the Vidarbha Cricket Stadium (VCA) in Vadodara.
Tharoor described being India’s coach as the “most difficult job of a prime minister”, while praising Gambhir’s composure and calm despite intense scrutiny over his coaching duties, especially amid recent criticism regarding team selection following Team India’s first ODI series loss to New Zealand at home in January this year. However, Gambhir’s response to the Congress leader’s praise sparked an online debate.
On his
‘Stay off social media’
Gautam Gambhir’s cryptic post on X sparked intense debate on social media, with fans questioning his comments and discussing the extent of a coach’s authority over the team.
Amid the social media storm, veteran Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane advised his former national teammate to stay away from social media and avoid thinking too much about people’s opinions, adding that being the head coach of the Indian team is a “very responsible job”.
“My only response to this is that GG should probably stay away from social media,” Rahane said on the Cricbuzz show.
“He probably doesn’t think too much about what people say about him. He played excellent cricket and now he coaches the Indian team, which is a very responsible job,” he added.
Scroll to load the tweet…
Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach of Team India in July 2024, succeeding Rahul Dravid. However, the former India opener has had a rocky tenure as head coach, losing the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand, the Test whitewash at the hands of New Zealand and South Africa at home, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series loss to Australia, resulting in India failing to qualify for the WTC final.
There will be no social networks until the World Cup
Ajinkya Rahane further stated that Gautam Gambhir should avoid using social media at least until the T20 World Cup 2026, which is a crucial task for India’s first match as head coach this year.
“He should stay away from social media and focus on the team. That’s my personal opinion. Let’s focus on the main thing – stay away from social media until the World Cup is over,” Rahane added.
Although the Indian team has been inconsistent with its results in ODIs and Tests under Gautam Gambhir as head coach, the Men in Blue have not had a single T20I series since the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup and won the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup last year, providing some assurance of stability ahead of the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup.
The ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, in which Team India took an unassailable 3-0 lead after winning the third match in Guwahati, is the final preparation for the next edition of the showpiece event, which will begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
As defending champions, the Men in Blue aim to maintain their momentum and fine-tune combinations ahead of the 10th edition of the T20 World Cup.
