Ex-Cricketer's Shocking Accusation: 'Gautam Gambhir Drops Players He Dislikes'

Ex-Cricketer's Shocking Accusation: 'Gautam Gambhir Drops Players He Dislikes'

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Last Updated: August 22, 2025, 16:09 IST

Sadagoppan Ramesh accuses Gautam Gambhir of favoritism over sidelining Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal from the Asia Cup 2025 squad.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir (AP Photo)

Former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has accused men’s head coach Gautam Gambhir of favoritism in picking teams, labeling Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the victims in the 2025 Asia Cup. He also said that under Gambhir, the standards of success have also come down, with a drawn series in England being ‘projected as a big achievement’ when the team has been winning overseas for a long time.

Shreyas scored over 600 runs at a strike rate of 175 in IPL 2025, while Jaiswal has been one of the most consistent batters in the league for the past few years. Still, for the 2025 Asia Cup, India’s extra batting pick was Test captain Shubman Gill, who has been made the T20 vice-captain. As per reports, Gill wasn’t supposed to be picked initially, but his case was pushed forward by Gambhir.

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“He backs the players he likes but completely lets go of those he doesn’t," Ramesh said, as quoted by The Times of India. “Winning consistently abroad had started long back under Kohli and Shastri. But now, just the drawn series in England is being projected as a big achievement in Gambhir’s track record," he added.

Ramesh said that Gambhir has ignored Shreyas, who gave him his biggest success yet, the 2025 Champions Trophy, where the Mumbaikar was the top run-scorer.

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“Gambhir’s biggest achievement remains the Champions Trophy triumph, and Iyer was the biggest reason for that success. Yet, Gambhir is not backing him. Someone like Jaiswal, who is an X-factor player, must play all formats. Keeping him in standby is a poor move. Shreyas Iyer produced incredible performances in the same UAE during the Champions Trophy and should be a permanent fixture in India’s white-ball teams. Players must be backed when they are high on confidence and in form, not when they fade away. This is the ideal time to reap the rewards of Iyer’s sky-high confidence."

It’s not like Gill doesn’t have the credentials to be picked for the team. He was the second-best run-scorer in IPL 2025 and is the leading candidate if the team wants to pivot to a one-captain-all-format model.

First Published: August 22, 2025, 16:09 IST

News cricket Ex-Cricketer's Shocking Accusation: 'Gautam Gambhir Drops Players He Dislikes'

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