Reports: Gautam Gambhir to be axed 'if things don't work out in Australia'

It has been far from an ideal start for Gautam Gambhir in the capacity of the Indian cricket team's head coach. He was the successor of Rahul Dravid, who led the Men in Blue to glory at the T20 World Cup, and took over with the multi-format series against Sri Lanka, where the team lost ODIs 2-0, and clean swept the Lankans in the three-match series.

This was followed by a home series against Bangladesh, where the opposition failed to put up a show and were whitewashed. But what followed was nothing short of a debacle as the Indians were pummelled by New Zealand in the three Tests, where they lost a series at home after 2012.

As a result, Gambhir might be on the verge of being ousted from his duty from the red-ball setup, according to a report by Dainik Jagran. This will only happen "if things don’t work out in Australia", a source close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated. The same report claimed that former stalwart, VVS Laxman, will be responsible for the Test team if India fail to perform up to the mark Down Under. In that case, Gambhir will have access solely to the white-ball sides.

Interestingly, Gambhir has got most of his demands fulfilled by the BCCI - be it in terms of the members of the coaching setup or shortlisting a bunch of players for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. There have been a sparse number of coaches in the history of Indian cricket who have got the liberty Gambhir has. This is believed to be one of the main reasons for the top brass to be dissatisfied with the output the Delhi-born has provided up until now.

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Laxman has been a part of the coaching setup as an interim head coach on numerous occasions. He is currently with the Indian side on their tour to South Africa. Also the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Laxman administered a comprehensive 61-run win against the Proteas yesterday.