Monty Panesar’s two-coach solution: Laxman for Tests, Gambhir for White-ball

Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as the Head Coach of the Indian team is off to a rocky start. After winning the T20I series, they lost the ODI series by 2-0 against Sri Lanka. Then came a whitewash at home, courtesy of New Zealand and a 1-3 loss against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. With this India for the first time, since the inception of the World Test Championship (WTC), are not in the finals. 

Former England spinner, Monty Panesar has commented on the growing uncertainties in Tests for the Indian team. The veteran also put forward a two-coach formula for Team India. In doing so, he opined that former India batter, VVS Laxman should coach the team in the red-ball format. Whereas, Gambhir should look after the team in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.

“I think the selectors will be thinking ‘is Gambhir taking it seriously as a coach, or should we get him to just focus on ODIs and T20Is, and maybe bring in someone like VVS Laxman, for example (as Test coach)? Or bring him in as a batting coach to help Gambhir,” Panesar was quoted as saying by News18.

“He’s similar to Rahul Dravid. He’s been successful in all conditions. I think you need some sort of Indian legend, who has done really well in all conditions, to come in as a coach, because then you naturally command that respect,” he further continued.

“If Laxman tells ‘you are not going to play the ball on the up when it is swinging’, you listen, right? But with Gambhir, I’m not sure if they really take him seriously, or they’re just saying, ‘okay, yeah, we’ll listen to him, but we’re gonna go and play our natural game,’” Panesar added.

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Laxman took India coaching role in Dravid’s absence

It is worth noting that, VVS Laxman has previously stepped in as the Head Coach, whenever the former India Head Coach, Rahul Dravid, opted for a rest. He did so when Gambhir opted to leave when the Indian team travelled to South Africa for the T20I series.

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