- Former pacer Atul Wassan alleges Gambhir’s ego drives ‘my way or highway’.
- Wassan claims Gambhir’s confrontational player-nature causes friction now.
- Wassan suggests players are insecure but fear speaking out.
- Unnamed players reportedly unhappy with Gambhir’s management style.
Gautam Gambhir has long been one of Indian cricket’s most polarising personalities, but a former India player has made some brutal allegations about him. In a candid conversation with Vickey Lalwani, former pacer Atul Wassan claimed that the current head coach’s aggressive “alpha-male” personality has created a state of insecurity within the national side. Wassan suggested that while Gambhir’s confrontational nature drove his success as a player, it is now causing friction in his transition to management.
My Way Or Highway Approach
Wassan, who has known Gambhir since childhood, described a pattern of behaviour that dates back to the coach’s early years in Delhi cricket. He claimed that Gambhir’s wealth and intelligence have fed an ego that demands absolute compliance from everyone around him.
“I have known him personally since he was a child. I have had my issues with him. With him, it’s about my way or the highway. He is like that, and he would bully a lot, even in Delhi cricket,” Wassan said in his interview with Vickey Lalwani.
“His nature is like that, right from the start. He came from money, an excellent player, and he is intelligent. His ego is on a different level. He thinks that if he says it’s night when it’s morning, it will be believed to be night. Fall in line. If you don’t fall in line, you are on my hit list. He will try to harm you, but he has achieved a lot in cricket, and his nature helped him in cricket,” he added.
Confrontations and Aggression
The former Delhi selector also touched upon the frequent flare-ups between Gambhir and Virat Kohli. He argued that Gambhir is unable to switch off the combative persona that once defined his batting, leading to unnecessary friction with modern stars.
“The player he became is because of his nature. He couldn’t give his best unless he fought. He probably goes and fights with the glass in his home. But he hasn’t realised when to get off this horse, now that he’s retired. That’s why he is confronting Virat Kohli: over-aggressiveness and an alpha-male kind of personality from Delhi,” Wassan claimed.
Unrest in the Dressing Room
Perhaps the most damaging allegation involves the current state of the Indian squad. Wassan alleged that several players are currently dissatisfied with the head coach’s management style, though they are afraid to speak out while the team continues to find some success.
“I am sure that all the players cannot be in a very happy place. Somebody will be sleeping on needles. This happens, personal likes and dislikes, and that too with such a strong personality. With personal likes and dislikes, and leading them with a stick, if you keep on winning, then it’s fine. But if you lose, then you need to listen to criticism,” he said.
Wassan refused to disclose the names of the specific players who are unhappy but insisted that the hierarchy of the team prevents them from being heard over the coach.
“I know one or two of them; they won’t say it openly. I can’t say their names in this show. Everyone knows what’s happening. But after sidelining those players, if you win, then it’s your world. It’s a team sport; nobody will listen to the player. If the coach wins even after all this, then the coach is right, and the player is wrong,” Wassan concluded.
