BCCI secretary denies ‘informal talks with Laxman’ reports, backs Gambhir as all-format coach

Social media buzzed with reports of the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) holding informal talks with batting giant VVS Laxman over his appointment as Gautam Gambhir’s replacement as Test head coach, only for the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia to dismiss such speculations. Saikia has backed Gambhir to continue in his role as the head coach across three formats.

Shortly after South Africa whitewashed India in away Tests (2-0), beating them in Kolkata and Guwahati, rumours of the Indian Cricket Board deciding to look beyond Gambhir in Tests did the rounds on social media. Although Gambhir remained absent for his comments on the same, Saikia squashed all speculations, throwing his weight behind Gautam as the head coach.

Meanwhile, Laxman has been on BCCI’s radar for Team India’s head coach role for the longest time. Even after Rahul Dravid’s tenure as the head coach, the board is said to have approached him first, but after Laxman denied accepting this role, citing his satisfaction in heading operations at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), the BCCI zeroed in on Gambhir as the new head coach.

Speaking to ANI, Saikia dismissed rumours surrounding a change in the leadership despite negative results in the Tests.

"This is totally incorrect news going on. This is totally speculative news. Some very reputed news agencies are also flashing the news. There is no truth to it. BCCI straight away denies. People can think all they want, but BCCI has not taken any steps. This is somebody's figment of imagination; there is no truth in it, and I cannot say anything except that this is factually incorrect and baseless news,” the BCCI secretary said.

Gambhir’s future remains gloomy

Gautam has been a fantastic white-ball coach, having led India to two multi-team titles this year – the ICC Champions Trophy crown in Dubai and the 2025 Asia Cup tournament. However, the Indian Team hasn’t tasted similar success in Tests under Gambhir, having lost three Test series since last year, including two at home. Although India managed to draw the five-match Test series in the UK this year, their overall poor record keeps them at the sixth spot on the current World Test Championship (WTC) standings.

A PTI report, also carried out by several publications, states that the board is worried about India’s red-ball cricket results; besides, there are chances of them revisiting Gambhir’s contract (as the head coach that runs until the 2027 ODI World Cup) should India fail to lift the trophy at next year’s co-hosted T20 World Cup.