Ex-Pakistan pacer labels Gautam Gambhir 'parchi'

Former Pakistan cricketer Tanveer Ahmed has strongly criticized Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach of the Indian cricket team, calling it a ‘Parchi’ case.

Gambhir, earlier this month, was confirmed as the new India head coach, preceding Rahul Dravid, who stepped down after overseeing the team’s perfect T20 World Cup 2024 campaign.

However, the former Pakistan pacer thinks that former India batter VVS Laxman should have been appointed as the head coach. Laxman is currently the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and has served as India’s stand-in coach during Dravid’s tenure.

Tanveer Ahmed shared his opinion on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, calling Gautam Gambhir a ‘parchi.’

“VVS Laxman should have become the head coach of the Indian team because he has been with the India B team as coach for a long time. It seems as if Gautam Gambhir’s appointment is a ‘Parchi’ case,” he posted.

For the unversed, Gambhir recently served as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ mentor in the recent edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Prior to that, Gambhir had mentored Lucknow Super Giants during IPL 2022 and 2023 and helped them reach the playoffs in both editions.

Gautam Gambhir played a pivotal role in India’s success in the 2007 World T20 and ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2011, top-scoring in the finals of both tournaments.