'140 Cr People In India, All Are Experts': BCCI President's Witty Reply To Gambhir's Sacking Rumours

The past few months have been challenging for head coach Gautam Gambhir. After losing ODIs in Australia, Team India suffered a dismal Test series defeat in South Africa. Later, in January 2025, the team lost an ODI series to New Zealand. These consecutive losses, especially on home soil, have put Gambhir and his coaching staff under significant scrutiny.

Although Gambhir’s tenure is set to end in 2027 after the ODI World Cup in Africa, there have been reports that he might be dismissed midway through his contract. However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has dismissed these rumours.

Speaking to Sportstar, Saikia stated that while people are entitled to their personal opinions, BCCI has qualified individuals performing their duties.

“India is a country

of 140 crore people, and everybody is a cricket expert. Everybody will have an opinion. It is a democratic country, and we cannot gag anybody. All the opinion makers are free to give their opinions, including the media. There is a lot of speculated news in the domain, and also various ex-cricketers, cricketers, or other people are also giving opinions. In social media, it is full of them,” Saikia said.

“But the thing is that we have a cricket committee in the BCCI, who are ex-cricketers. They are dedicated and make all the decisions. On the other hand, for team selection, we have five selectors. They also have to qualify to get into that position. They are the people who take that also. For every decision, there can be a counter-opinion.”

“So, those opinions we have to address, and we have to consider. But the final decision is always taken by the cricket committee as well as the selectors,” he added.

Gambhir’s tenure started on a challenging note with an ODI series loss against Sri Lanka, a Test series defeat to New Zealand after decades, and a disappointing thrashing in Australia, putting him under the spotlight. Additionally, reports of rifts within the dressing room have painted a concerning picture.

Nevertheless, as Saikia pointed out, despite various theories, Gambhir’s position remains secure for now.