Gautam Gambhir told to 'stay away from social media' after 'unlimited authority' coach tweet: 'Focus on T20 World Cup'

Ajinkya Rahane had a piece of advice for head coach Gautam Gambhir, asking him to stay away from social media.

Ajinkya Rahane, the seasoned India batter, urged head coach Gautam Gambhir to “stay away from social media” and not think too much about what is being said about him online. Last week, the former India opening batter set the internet ablaze with his reaction to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's tweet, seemingly breaking his silence on the rift rumours with seasoned batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Tharoor and Gambhir met before the first T20I between India and New Zealand in Nagpur, and the former described the latter as having the second-most difficult job after the Prime Minister of the country.

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir during a warm-up session. (PTI)

Reacting to Tharoor's post, Gambhir said that over time, people will realise there is no such thing as a coach's"unlimited authority". He did stop there, as he also said he is amused by reports that he might not be getting along with some team members.

Gambhir's tweet garnered plenty of reactions online, and now Rahane has jumped in too. However, he advised Gambhir to focus on the job at hand, which is the upcoming T20 World Cup and not lose sight of the bigger goal. He also said that the position of the head coach comes with its own responsibilities, and hence, the main task should be to focus on the team.

“My only response to this is that GG should probably stay away from social media. Probably not think too much about what people are saying about him or telling him. He played his cricket in a great manner, and now he's coaching Team India, which is a very responsible job,” Rahane said on Cricbuzz.

“He should stay away from social media and focus on the team. That's my personal opinion. Let's just focus on the main thing: stay away from social media till the World Cup is over,” he added.

Gambhir facing criticism

Ever since taking over the reins of the Indian team, Gambhir has been frequently criticised on social media. Under his tenure, India were whitewashed by New Zealand in a three-match Test series on home soil, and the side even lost the two-match Test series against South Africa.

India also lost the ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2024, followed by the series against New Zealand earlier this month. The latter came against a depleted Black Caps side, while India fielded an almost full-strength side, just without Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.

There have been murmurs that Gambhir may not be gelling well with seniors Virat and Rohit, who play only the ODI format. Earlier, after their retirements from the Test format, there was an intense debate about whether the two could keep up with the rigours of international cricket. However, the duo answered the critics in style by scoring at some point or the other in the nine ODIs against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

With RoKo scoring runs, many fans on social media directed their ire at Gambhir. The trolling went on for months, and a reply to Tharoor's tweet was seen as the former Indian opening batter finally breaking his silence and issuing a reaction to the same.