Sourav Ganguly offers honest take on Gautam Gambhir's aggression: 'He does not need to be rude or rough'

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has suggested that current India head coach Gautam Gambhir does not need to be rude or rough in his behaviour. While Ganguly praised Gambhir's competitive mindset and the culture he has created in the current Indian team, he urged him to tone down his behaviour a bit.

Gambhir was known for his aggressive nature when he played, and even now, he speaks in the same manner, which many people think is rude. Over the years, this attitude has sometimes led to clashes, including a well-known on-field argument with Virat Kohli during IPL games.

Speaking during an interaction on RevSportz, Ganguly said that while Gambhir can appear tough, he is actually a good person who always wants his team to win. "You know, he may be rude, rough, but he is a competitor. He does not need to be rude or rough because he is a good man. I have seen, I have played with him for India, but he is a competitor. He wants to win,” Ganguly said.

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Ganguly on Gambhir needs to improve

However, Ganguly also pointed out that Gambhir still needs to improve as a coach in Test cricket. He said Gambhir is a very good T20 coach but must focus on playing on better pitches in the longer format. Ganguly also criticised the overuse of turning pitches in India and said Gambhir should not worry too much about preparing certain types of wickets.

"He's he's a tremendous T20 coach. He's got to get better in Test matches and most importantly play on good wickets. If he plays on good wickets, he'll be a good test match coach as well. He plays too much on turning pitches in India. Look what he did in England on good pitches where he didn't have control. So as a coach, he should take the wicket out of his system and just go and play because he's very good."

Gambhir has already achieved big success as India’s head coach, but mostly in white-ball formats. He recently became the first India coach to win two major ICC trophies after guiding the team to victories in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

However, India have lost two crucial home Test series since Gambhir took over the coaching role and also failed to qualify for the World Test Championship final for the first time.