Former Pakistani cricketer Tanvir Ahmed has taken a swipe at Gautam Gambhir after he was appointed as the head coach of the Indian National Cricket Team. He said that the former Indian opener had been included in the team by the ‘Parchi’. “Parchi” translates to “receipt”, but among cricket fans, it is often used pejoratively. When used in this context, it implies that someone has been selected not on the basis of their performance, but because of favouritism or other non-merit-based reasons.
The Indian national cricket team has entered a new era after the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach ended and paved the way for BCCI to hire the new coach. They then appointed Gautam Gambhir in the role till the 2027 World Cup.
Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, there has been a lot of talk about the Indian head coach. This came after Rahul Dravid did not agree to continue as the head coach. There were a lot of rumours regarding it and the main name that emerged since then was Gautam Gambhir.
Gautam Gambhir’s position became even stronger when under his mentorship, Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Since the last few seasons, the franchise has been struggling to get going but Gambhir’s presence turned the team’s fortunes around.
Along with Gautam Gambhir, there were several names that were mentioned for the post of head coach. VVS Laxman was also among the names that were mentioned. This was because whenever Rahul Dravid and his coaching team were on break, the NCA chief was the head coach of the team.
But VVS Laxman reportedly did not express his desire to take over as the head coach. There were even reports claiming that along with Gautam Gambhir, WV Raman was also interviewed by the BCCI for the post but the Kolkata Knight Riders mentor was given the nod and was hired.
Gautam Gambhir has not coached any team and this will be his first stint as a coach of a team. He has played the role of a mentor in the Indian Premier League. The former India captain was the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants for two years and also played the same role at KKR this year.
Gautam Gambhir is in the game – Tanvir Ahmed
When Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the head coach of Team India, Tanvir Ahmed was not happy with the decision. He said that VVS Laxman should have been appointed as the head coach because he has been with the team for a long time. On his Twitter account, he explained:
“VVS Laxman, the head coach of the Indian team, is the head coach of the Indian B team. It is time to make head coach Gautham Gambhir the head coach. (Roughly translated as: VVS Laxman should have been the head coach of the Indian team as he worked with the Indian B team for a long time. It seems that Gautam Gambhir has not been selected based on his merits.)”
VVS Laxman should be the head coach of the Indian team because he has been in India for a long time and seems to be doing less than what head coach Gautham Gambhir is doing.
– Tanveer says (@ImTanveerA) July 22, 2024
Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as head coach of Team India will be the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The team will take on the island nation in the three-match T20I series and the three-match ODI series, which will begin on July 27.