India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has shut down the team’s critics head of the Asian Games 2026. India recently suffered a 0-2 series loss against Ireland, which stunned a lot of experts and fans. Furthermore, Shreyas Iyer’s team took a 0-4 beating against England while playing in English conditions. 

India then faced a lot of criticism after they suffered six losses on the UK tour. The loss against Ireland was India’s first T20I series loss under Gautam Gambhir’s tutelage. Ahead of the UK tour, India had successfully defended the T20 World Cup title after beating New Zealand in the summit clash in home conditions.

Gautam Gambhir said while talking to Jio Star, “For two years, imagine, we won the World Cup. Which team in the history of sport has gone undefeated from one World Cup to the next and gone on to win the World Cup? It didn’t take these guys 17 years to win a second World Cup. It took them only 17 months to win a third World Cup. Suddenly, one bad series or three bad games here and there do not make them bad players or make us a bad side.”

Gambhir has found success in the white-ball formats, leading India to T20 World Cup glory and the Champions Trophy triumph as a coach. But under his tutelage, India have had mixed results in the Test format, losing home series against New Zealand and South Africa.

“I think I’ve had my own share of ups and downs, I think I’ve had my own failures and success. But again, I’ve always believed that when you take up that kind of responsibility, there will always be ups and downs,” said Gambhir (via India Today).

India will take on the West Indies in three ODIs and five T20Is under Gambhir. The first ODI will be played on 27th September.