Ex-India cricketer uses Kohli-Dhoni episode to brand Gambhir a hypocrite ahead of England tour

Former batter Sadagoppan Ramesh hit out at India head coach Gautam Gambhir for his hypocrisy ahead of the three ODI series against England. He questioned Gambhir’s stance on changing vice-captains during his stint as coach.

Rishabh Pant was removed as Test vice-captain, with KL Rahul getting the responsibility. In T20Is, Tilak Varma replaced Axar Patel for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.

When Gambhir was asked about Pant’s removal, Gambhir said that the performances of the players should matter the most.

Ramesh recalled how Gambhir had questioned his own sacking as vice-captain in 2012 after the team didn’t make it to the final of the tri-series in Australia. MS Dhoni was retained as captain, with Virat Kohli replacing Gambhir as deputy.

“The vice-captain was changed after the CB series in Australia. I was removed, and Virat Kohli was given the responsibility. In the history of India or any other sport, has it happened that a vice-captain was sacked but the captain was retained?” Gambhir had said about the 2012 incident.

Ramesh targeted Gambhir for his past remark.

“Rishabh Pant was removed as vice-captain before the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Gambhir said that a captain or vice-captain is not a primary position. He told everyone not to give importance to those, and only the performance matters. Gambhir had spoken against a similar incident in 2012 when Dhoni remained the team’s captain after an ordinary series, but Virat Kohli replaced Gambhir as vice-captain,” Ramesh said.

“He had questioned the decision then. Why didn’t he call vice-captaincy a byproduct then? It is blood when the situation is related to you, but it becomes a tomato chutney when it is about others. The vice-captaincy of the Indian team has become a dangerous position. Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant have been removed from the post,” he added.

Sadagoppan  Ramesh also questioned the logic to sack Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav as ODI and T20I after winning the global tournaments. Rohit led India to the 2025 Champions Trophy title but was replaced by Shubman Gill. On the other hand, Suryakumar was India’s skipper when the Men in Blue won the 2026 T20 World Cup, but Shreyas Iyer was given the captain’s armband for the upcoming series in Ireland and England.

“Gambhir achieved success in the Champions Trophy, Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, but the two captains involved were sacked. It seems the captains and vice-captains are in danger in the Indian team at the moment. When trophy-winning leaders are not given a long run, they will be under pressure,” he concluded.