'Best-ever coach and human being' - Former KKR star defends Gautam Gambhir amid criticism

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has come to the defence of Indian head coach Gautam Gambhiramid the flak the latter has been subjected to of late. The cricket fraternity has intensely scrutinised Gambhir following the poor run India have undergone in Test cricket in his coaching stint.

Praising Gambhir, Gurbaz said that the former is the best human being and coach he has ever had. He further commented that Gambhir;s criticism after India's loss to South Africa has been unfair.

"If

1.4 billion people are there in your country, you can say 2-3 million will be against him. The rest are with Gautam sir and with the India team. It doesn’t make sense to talk about them. He's the best-ever coach, human being and mentor that I have had in my career so far. I love the way he goes about things. India just won the Champions Trophy in ODI format, Asia Cup in T20 format. They have won a lot of series, so you can’t blame them for one series," stated Gurbaz, as quoted by India Today.

The 24-year-old also recounted his stint at Kolkata Knight Riders and how Gambhir's disciplined approach as team mentor helped the franchise emerge successful in the 2024 Indian Premier League.  

"I love the way he goes about his job. When you have a good environment, you will be always on the top. He made the environment very easy for us, nothing stressful, nothing strict, and that’s why we won the tournament. He is not strict but he is disciplined. He is strict only when something goes against discipline," he added.

India have lost 10 out of 17 Tests played with Gambhir at the helm. The constant shuffling of the Test squad has not been taken positively by the Indian supporters and former Indian cricketers.

They were recently whitewashed by the Proteas in the two-match series. The Men in Blue are currently engaged in the eight-match white-ball series against South Africa, which will conclude on December 19.