‘Some individuals could have gotten better treatment’ – says Wasim Jaffer on Gautam Gambhir amid Colombo Test

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has offered a nuanced assessment of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India’s head coach, acknowledging strong performances in white-ball cricket while raising concerns about how certain players have been treated. Jaffer’s comments come as India competes in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, with the series currently at 1-0 in favour of the tourists.

Jaffer recognised Gambhir’s achievements in limited-overs cricket, where India won the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, the former opening batter expressed concern about the abrupt exits of some players from the white-ball setup, including Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami.

“Some individuals could have gotten better treatment, like Surya, who was axed after winning the World Cup. There are other players as well, like Shami. Some things could have been better. But otherwise, I don’t think in white-ball cricket any blame can be put on him,” Jaffer said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Test cricket defeats remain a significant concern

Test cricket remains a significant concern in Jaffer’s evaluation of Gambhir’s coaching record. India suffered home series defeats against New Zealand and South Africa, results that Jaffer believes will leave a lasting black mark on the coach’s resume. The former India opener said that there is a lot of scope for improvement in red-ball cricket for the Men in Blue.

“The mark of those two whitewash series will always be on him, without a doubt. Not just on his CV but also on the captain and other players. Coming to India and beating them was a final frontier that not many teams had achieved. It was very bad for us to suddenly lose like that. He will definitely feel that had we won those series, we would be at the top of the WTC table,” Jaffer said.

“There is a lot of scope for improvement in Test cricket for him. Not just for him, but for the players also. It is the players who go and play, not the coach. But some of the selections could have been better,” he added.

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Jaffer’s comments highlighted the distinction between Gambhir’s success in white-ball cricket and the challenges faced in the longer format. The cricketer-turned-expert suggested that while the coach bears some responsibility for Test selections, the players themselves carried the primary burden of execution on the field. Jaffer indicated that certain squad decisions in Test cricket could have been reconsidered to produce better outcomes in the home series.