Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir is undergoing the toughest phase of his life following India’s 0-2 whitewash defeat to South Africa at home. This marks the second instance of the hosts losing the home test series in Gambhir’s era.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s elder brother Vikas Kohli slammed the Indian cricket team’s poor management.
Even though Vikas didn’t mention Gambhir’s name, his message straightaway targeted the head coach and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He cited the unnecessary interference and transition that occurred ever since Gambhir stepped into the coaching role.
‘Too Much of Bossism’: Virat Kohli’s Brother’s Social Media Post Against Gambhir
Vikas Kohli shared a post on his threads account and questioned how the current leadership has caused abrupt changes to the team:
“See! Those were the golden days when we played to win matches on overseas pitches. Now, we are struggling to avoid facing a defeat even on Indian soil. This is what happens when you try too much of bossism around and make sudden changes that were not at all required,” Kohli’s brother wrote.
Even though the post was removed from social media after a few hours, but continues to get flooded on the internet.
Vikas shared his message during Day 04 of the second test when South Africa set a mammoth target of 589 after declaring their second innings at 260/5. Especially, the hosts lacked the winning mentality, and none of the players showed any intent to win matches.
On a batting-friendly surface, South Africa’s disciplined bowling attack ripped apart India’s batting line-up. This proves how well the visitors analyzed and made use of the Asian pitch conditions.
Vikas Comments Support Virat Kohli’s Test Captaincy Era
Vikas Kohli’s comments against the Indian team management are truly justified. During Virat Kohli’s stint as test captain, India won 40 out of 68 matches, losing just 17 of them, while the remaining 11 ended in a draw.
It’s worth noting that Team India won its first-ever Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Australian soil under Virat’s captaincy with a 2-1 scoreline in the 4-match test series back in 2016.
Eventually, Kohli’s team went on to become a formidable team, winning back-to-back test series in Australia and qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021 final before losing to New Zealand.
Most importantly, India were invincible in tests at home, having lost only two tests under Kohli’s leadership.
Even after passing the leadership to Rohit Sharma in early 2022, India remained a dominant side in test cricket until Gautam Gambhir’s entry as the team’s head coach in July 2024.
Breakdown of India and South Africa’s Strategy: Vikas Kohli’s Bold Post
Vikas Kohli furthermore went on to make a clever comparison on his other post by decoding the contrasting strategy of India and South Africa that is currently being followed in test cricket:
| India’s Strategy | South Africa’s Strategy |
| Remove Senior Players from the team (Referring to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin) | Play a Proper Test Match, including a set of skilled youngsters and veterans. |
| Prefer only the Left-Right hand batting combination | Use Specialist Openers |
| Remove Specialist Batters at No.3, No.4, and No.5 | Include Specialist Batters at No.3, No.4, No.5, and No.6 |
| Experiment Too Much With the Batting Order | Adhere to the successful batting combination |
| Promote Bowler at No.3 batting position (Concept of night-watchman in test cricket) | No need for any nightwatchman (full-time batter promoted at No.3) |
| Use Too Many All-Rounders to ensure depth in the batting line-up | Prefer Specialist Spinners and Fast Bowlers (Use 1 all-rounder if required) |
After making the comparison, Vikas questioned: “See! Even though I wish Team India to win, the question needs to be asked, ‘WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOWNFALL’???,” Kohli’s brother posted, taking a jibe at Gautam Gambhir and BCCI.
India’s Test Cricket Journey So Far Under Gambhir’s Era
Here is a brief timeline of Team India’s downfall in test cricket under Gautam Gambhir’s era since July 2024:
- July 2024: Table Toppers of World Test Championship (WTC) points table.
- September 2024: Started with a whitewashing victory of 2-0 at home against a weaker opponent like Bangladesh.
- October 2024: Faced a clean sweep of a 0-3 loss to New Zealand.
- December 2024-January 2025: Lost Border Gavaskar Trophy to Australia after 10 years.
- May 2025: Experienced Players Like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli forcefully bid adieu to the longest format.
- June 2025: Failed to qualify for WTC 2025 final (not able to rank in the top two positions).
- June to August 2025: Levelled 5-match test series in the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy by 2-2.
- October 2025: Secured a clean 2-0 win at home against low low-ranked team like West Indies.
- November 2025: After 25 years, another whitewashing loss of 0-2 to South Africa.
Also Read: Bavuma Responds to Bumrah’s Disrespectful Remark Amid South Africa Coach’s Grovel Controversy!
Vikas Kohli’s Deleted Post Conveys a Bold Message
Despite the post being deleted on threads, Vikas Kohli’s frustration and emotion went viral on social media. His complaint against Gautam Gambhir and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar was clear, igniting fans’ rage to a peak level.
Although he didn’t specifically mention any of the names, his single message clarifies that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were forced to retire from test cricket and didn’t make any voluntary decision.
Not only Vikas, but also several cricket fans and former cricketers believe that India lost its core backbone following RO-KO’s test cricket retirement.
Overall, Kohli’s brother revived the theory that Gambhir and BCCI forced Rohit and Kohli into retirement to enable an instant transition of a young Indian cricket team, which ended in failure.
