IND vs NZ: Gautam Gambhir will face brickbats, barbs and taunts; FLOP SHOW against the Kiwis hurts | Opinion

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The knives are out for Gautam Gambhir. Cricket fans and experts will be ready to inflict knicks on him knicks and cuts for losing a Test series to New Zealand at home. This is hard to digest.

After two lost attempts at winning the ICC Test World Championship finals against New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023, the hype had been built over India making the final, again. No, now it is in peril. Nothing can be taken for granted. And the tour Down Under can take Indian cricket to deeper depths of despair from November.

Abject Surrender From Indian Batters Is Shocking

The spineless batting will be cursed, spare Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rohit Sharma the captain and legend Virat Kohli will also not be spared but the man who has taken over the reins of Indian cricket will not escape scrutiny. Gambhir promised bold cricket and aggressive stuff.

It was a bit like the promise to play even more fast and furious cricket than Bazball. Damn, it went bust, against New Zealand. Crazy decisions, like batting first in Bengaluru and then spin-tripping them in Pune. And the Kiwis were without Kane Williamson!

How does one explain this loss, first in Bengaluru and now in Pune? This is definitely cricket's 'Gone With The Win' where coach Gambhir will be holding his head in horror and disbelief. It was fine to beat Bangladesh black and blue, they were minnows. New Zealand thumping a full-strength India, Gambhir was clueless.

He is facing flak and heat. The first sign of pressure emerged when India lost the ODI series in Sri Lanka. If that was an aberration, losing this Test series to the Blackcaps at home is a shame. Gambhir will have to answer and he knows the BCCI bigwigs are watching. Some even exchange sarcastic notes.

When India won the ICC T20 World Cup this June in the West Indies, outgoing coach Rahul Dravid emerged as a hero. He had delivered a big trophy and walked into the sunset. All smiles.

Dravid even refused a higher prize money, which only he could, from the BCCI. The Wall has moved on to Rajasthan Royals and will be relieved of India duty and the pressure is off. He is back in the IPL.

Gambhir came with fanfare, he had bargained a good deal for himself. From KKR mentorship to leading Team India, it has not been easy. And, that, too, with his own assistant coaches. Gambhir got whatever support staff he wanted. But Indian Test cricket now needs support. It is on crutches and the pressure will increase further.

Down Under will be a bigger challenge and Gambhir - a veteran of 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is - has to come up with a better template. He is aware of what it means to be the coach and how much every action of his is analysed by the experts on TV and digital platforms. Plus the social media trolls.

At a time when the same cricket fans clapped and cheered for the Men In Blue after the T20 World Cup win, there is a tinge of sadness. Ravi Shastri felt the heat, though he tried his best as coach with Virat Kohli. Dravid was a calming face and helped out Team India with Rohit Sharma.

There seems to be a paucity of ideas as Gambhir will be taken to the cleaners by one and all. GG stares at reality. Welcome to the leadership role in Indian cricket. Waiting for another press release from Gambhir's PR team!