{"id":353539,"date":"2026-07-29T10:53:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/353539\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T10:53:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:53:29","slug":"vvs-laxman-not-in-line-to-replace-gautam-gambhir-but-fresh-outlook-in-zimbabwe-upcoming-asian-games-keep-the-door-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/353539\/","title":{"rendered":"VVS Laxman not in line to replace Gautam Gambhir, but fresh outlook in Zimbabwe, upcoming Asian Games keep the door open"},"content":{"rendered":"

VVS Laxman<\/a> made it clear that he wasn\u2019t here to replace Gautam Gambhir. Perhaps not in as many words, but the former India batting great ensured he conveyed that his priority lay elsewhere \u2013 serving as the head of the BCCI Centre of Excellence (formerly the National Cricket Academy). Laxman signed off from his temporary stint as India\u2019s head coach with an expected result and will now return to the Centre of Excellence before taking charge again for the Asian Games in September. After a string of defeats under Gautam Gambhir<\/a> in England and Ireland, Laxman\u2019s young Indian side restored order. They could easily have unravelled as they did against Ireland, but the little things Laxman did during his brief stay in Zimbabwe ensured those mistakes weren\u2019t repeated.<\/p>\n

\"VVSVVS Laxman may not be bad contender to coach India in red-ball cricket. (AFP)<\/p>\n

Every time Laxman takes charge of an Indian team, there is renewed public clamour for him to take the role permanently. And understandably so. Gambhir does not quite enjoy the popularity of his predecessor, Rahul Dravid<\/a>. His press conferences are often explosive, occasionally edgy, and at times veer off the point. Phrases such as \u201cIt\u2019s not about one player\u201d and \u201cCountry comes first\u201d have become clich\u00e9s. The more often they are used, the harder they become to sell.<\/p>\n

Also Read: VVS Laxman urges Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to \u2018improve fitness\u2019 after first Player of the Series win<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Laxman\u2019s press conference came as a breath of fresh air. The atmosphere felt much more relaxed, the questions were broader, and the answers were direct and polite. The more relaxed environment he has fostered was also evident from the glowing praise both Shreyas Iyer<\/a> and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi<\/a> had for him. By contrast, Gambhir has largely been mentioned by players only when specifically asked about him.<\/p>\n

Laxman\u2019s undeniable impact<\/p>\n

In just three matches, Laxman has already shown where he differs from Gambhir. For starters, he is far less confrontational. You would rarely see him getting into a public face-off. A player of immense stature in Indian cricket, Laxman has also worked his way through almost every level of the BCCI ecosystem \u2013 from player to broadcaster, IPL mentor, and eventually Head of the Centre of Excellence. He has observed and nurtured cricketers from the grassroots level, an opportunity Gambhir never really had. The difference in experience reflects in their contrasting approaches.<\/p>\n

Also Read: \u2018Understands, assesses and gets better\u2019, VVS Laxman reveals what sets Vaibhav Sooryavanshi apart at such an early age<\/a><\/p>\n

If Laxman\u2019s blueprint is anything to go by, he doesn\u2019t believe in making wholesale changes. The sample size isn\u2019t too big, and the tweaks to the Indian team in Zimbabwe were purposeful. Yash Thakur replaced Ashok Sharma for the second T20I before Suryansh Shedge came in for Shivam Dube in the third game, with the series already wrapped up. Even though the venue remained the same, Laxman recognised the need to give Shedge a game after he had featured only once each in Ireland and England.<\/p>\n

Laxman is revered<\/p>\n

While there were changes throughout the series, they appeared far less forced than some of the rotation seen in England, such as handing Sooryavanshi three games only to bring Sanju Samson straight back into the XI. Of course, the quality of these two teams is like chalk and cheese, and the fact that India never looked troubled against Zimbabwe, unlike in 2024, made rotation much easier to manage.<\/p>\n

The one thing that didn\u2019t change, however, was the catching. India put down five catches in the third T20I in Harare, an area that needs immediate attention. The hope will be that the incoming Subhadeep Ghosh can make a difference.<\/p>\n

Gambhir is contracted until the 2027 World Cup, and if all goes well, he could even earn an extension through to the 2028 Olympics. Then again, the very reason he landed the India head coach\u2019s job was that the BCCI had run out of options. Laxman, the man many believed was the ideal candidate, turned down the role to prioritise his family. But two years on, the landscape has changed. Despite guiding India to back-to-back ICC titles, Gambhir has ruffled a few feathers, and reports of disagreements with a couple of senior players haven\u2019t exactly enhanced his popularity among fans.<\/p>\n

The big \u2018what-if\u2019<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where the Laxman experiment has prompted many to wonder: what if? Would a split-coaching role appeal to him? Perhaps. It wouldn\u2019t require Laxman to spend the entire year on the road, and with India\u2019s Test team in need of a rebuild, the idea isn\u2019t as far-fetched as it once seemed.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s squad for next month\u2019s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka featured a maiden call-up for 33-year-old Saransh Jain, once again underlining Gambhir\u2019s preference for multi-dimensional cricketers. It\u2019s clear that all-rounders are non-negotiable. A series win in Sri Lanka would go a long way towards strengthening Gambhir\u2019s standing, while a defeat would increase scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Barring Laxman, there aren\u2019t too many obvious candidates to take over as India\u2019s head coach. Sourav Ganguly<\/a> has slowly begun crafting his coaching resume, having led the Pretoria Capitals to the SA20 final, while Yuvraj Singh<\/a> has taken his first step with a stint as a batting coach with the Delhi Capitals. As it takes them time to find their feet, Laxman could gain considerable ground. If Zimbabwe were the trailer, the Asian Games in Japan could significantly boost Laxman\u2019s prospects with a successful title defence, provided there\u2019s space for separate red-ball, white-ball coaches in the Indian team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VVS Laxman made it clear that he wasn\u2019t here to replace Gautam Gambhir. Perhaps not in as many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[60],"tags":[165454,41660,58532,165453,157178,106],"class_list":["post-353539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-zimbabwe","tag-gambhir","tag-gautam-gambhir","tag-head-coach","tag-laxman","tag-vvs-laxman","tag-zimbabwe"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/117002896387038208","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}