Those calling for the heads of contemporary cricket’s two most influential coaches, India’s Gautam Gambhir and England’s Brendon McCullum ignore that the metric by which success is measured might be changing. England lost the Ashes series in Australia while India’s recent loss to New Zealand followed losses at home and away.

Sometimes it seems that today’s coaches are not judged on results alone — although Gambhir must hope that India win the World T20 next month so he can breathe more freely. They are judged on team culture. Are the players happy? Are they improving? Are they expressing themselves?

McCullum has said he is not for “being told what to do.” That sounds like something Gambhir, less articulate and more aggressive, might say too.

A consequence of the modern game’s formats and data-driven approach is the modified role of the coach. The cricket coach once existed in the margins. He was there to oil the machinery, not redesign it. The captain ruled, the selectors ordained, and the coach was merely the man in the background, often in a floppy hat, occasionally blamed when nothing else worked.

The modern coach has moved from the shadows to the centre as strategist, psychologist, data interpreter, public speaker, and damage controller. In the amateur era, coaching was considered unnecessary. Great players were assumed to be self-explanatory texts. A coach, if appointed, was often a senior figure whose authority came from past deeds rather than present ideas. He was there to nod wisely, occasionally say “well played”, and ensure the nets were rolled properly. The captain decided the team, the batting order, and the tactics.

Curator of knowledge

Video analysis, fitness metrics, opposition data, and the tyranny of spreadsheets have transformed the coach into a curator of knowledge. Someone had to connect the numbers to the humans. The captain still led on the field, but the coach now shaped strategy. Preparation was power. T20 compressed authority. The coach, who lived in the future, suddenly had more influence than the captain who lived in the present.

Players are brands, investments, and fragile assets. They are managed across formats, franchises, and national loyalties. Someone must coordinate all this to keep chaos at bay. Welcome, the McCullums and the Gambhirs.

The relationship between coach and captain is crucial, but they are human beings, with egos and failings. When tensions arise, it is unclear who ranks higher. This ambiguity is new, and cricket is still adjusting to it. 

A Virat Kohli as skipper is unhappy with an Anil Kumble as coach, and the latter loses his job. A Gambhir possibly has issues with Rohit Sharma, and out goes the captain. Gambhir is the closest cricket has had to a football supremo. This has to do as much with his cricketing credentials as his political ones as a prominent member of the ruling party.

England’s coach thinks up a system first and then squeezes his players into it. Bazball is not everybody’s cup of tea, but it was successful. Many who supported it initially are its biggest critics now. This might qualify as bad faith, but critics are human too. If McCullum loses his job, what made England cricket so attractive might be jettisoned.

Skipper Ben Stokes has been supportive of his coach. Indian captains rarely express opinions beyond the ‘official’, so we don’t know what they think.

Losing coaches often say that a coach is only as good as the players under him. Had India won the last Test series in England (they drew 2-2), both debutant skipper Shubhman Gill and coach Gambhir would have received credit, although how much each got is not easily calculated.

And that’s the issue. You can’t put a number on team spirit, culture etc. except by the old metric. Team spirit leads to wins. The culture in a winning team is fine. Sometimes the abstract is easier to understand than the concrete. Those asking for the heads of McCullum and Gambhir are saying in effect that only results matter.

Reality in cricket has moved beyond the methods to calculate it. The important question belongs to the old metric, however: Did the decisions lead to victory? McCullum and Gambhir are caught in the cleft between process and outcome, between the old and the new.

Published – January 21, 2026 12:35 am IST

England coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes see cricket as entertainment, feel they owe something to the spectators
| Photo Credit: Gareth Copley

File photo of England head coach Brendon McCullum.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

England’s quest for their maiden ICC Men’s Champions Trophy title carries the weight of past performances and high expectations across the years. Having conquered both the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy remains the only white-ball title missing from their cabinet. Twice before, in 2004 under Michael Vaughan and in 2013 under Alastair Cook, England came agonisingly close, only to falter at the final hurdle against India. Now, as they prepare for the 2025 edition, a full-strength squad, a renewed tactical approach, and the aggressive philosophy of new white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum offer a fresh shot at redemption.

Strength: England’s strength lies in their formidable batting unit, one that has defined their white-ball dominance over the past decade. The team has been the fastest-scoring ODI side since the 2023 World Cup, scoring at 6.02 runs per over. The presence of Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Phil Salt and Ben Duckett ensures that England can take the attack to any opposition.

Root’s adaptability and experience make him a crucial figure, particularly in Pakistani conditions where spin is expected to play a key role. Alongside Buttler’s explosiveness and Brook’s fearless approach, England’s batting line-up is built to dictate terms, balancing aggression with the ability to stabilise when needed.

Weakness: However, England’s lead-up to the tournament has been far from ideal. They have won only four of the thirteen ODIs played since the 2023 World Cup and have suffered four consecutive series defeats. This slump has raised concerns about their ability to perform under pressure in a major tournament.

The inconsistency stems largely from an unsettled squad, with key players missing various assignments due to injuries, rest periods, and franchise cricket commitments. Jos Buttler, their full-time captain, has featured in just six ODIs since the World Cup, and the lack of continuity has disrupted their rhythm.

Adding to their worries is the lack of depth in the spin department. With Moeen Ali retired, the burden falls solely on Adil Rashid, England’s most successful ODI spinner. Rashid remains a world-class bowler, but at 36, questions remain over whether he can shoulder the responsibility alone across an entire tournament. His form will be crucial, particularly in the middle overs, where England have often struggled to contain scoring rates.

Joe Root and Liam Livingstone are England’s only other viable spin options, but neither offers the same level of control or wicket-taking threat. This deficiency could prove costly on subcontinental pitches that often aid slow bowlers.

Opportunity: The bowling attack, however, carries immense firepower in the pace department. Jofra Archer’s return, alongside the likes of Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Saqib Mahmood, provides England with a varied and menacing arsenal. Each of these pacers brings a different strength – Archer’s raw pace and accuracy, Wood’s express speed, Atkinson’s skiddy bounce, and Carse’s versatility as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

If these quicks find a rhythm, they can trouble the best batting line-ups. Yet, England’s biggest concern remains their bowling economy. Since the 2023 World Cup, they have conceded 6.41 runs per over on average, the worst among all teams in this period. This vulnerability was evident in their recent ODI series defeats against India (3-0), where opposition batters capitalised on England’s lack of control in the middle overs.

The absence of Ben Stokes and Sam Curran further complicates matters. Stokes, England’s talisman in high-pressure situations, has opted out to focus on his Test career, leaving a void in both leadership and middle-order stability. Curran, on the other hand, has seen his stock fall due to inconsistent performances with the ball, leading to his omission. Their absences mean England lack a left-handed middle-order batter, which could affect their flexibility against match-ups, and a left-arm seamer, limiting the variety in their attack. Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse will have to step up as seam-bowling all-rounders to fill the void left by Stokes and Curran.

Threat: Despite these challenges, the Champions Trophy presents England with a golden opportunity to rewrite history. It offers them the chance to overcome their spin vulnerabilities, refine their bowling execution, and embrace McCullum’s aggressive brand of cricket.

The “Bazball” philosophy, which revolutionised England’s Test cricket, is expected to make its way into their white-ball setup, encouraging fearless cricket even in challenging conditions. If executed well, this approach could unsettle opposition teams and give England the edge in close encounters.

England’s campaign for their maiden Champions Trophy title will kick off on February 22, against Australia in Lahore. Then they will face Afghanistan on February 26 at the same venue and in the last league match they will face South Africa in Karachi on March 1.

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.

The England cricket team’s 0-3 defeat against India in the recently concluded ODI series against India put them in the line of fire. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri and ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen rubbed salt to their wounds by suggesting that the team had only one nets session throughout the series. However, England head coach Brendon McCullum has called the accusation by Shastri and Pietersen ‘factually incorrect’, saying a cautious call over the team’s training schedule had to be taken, keeping workload and injuries in mind.

“Firstly it’s factually incorrect, the whole statement that we don’t train. We train plenty right throughout, guys have come from (playing) a lot of cricket as well. It’s an easy thing to have as a throwaway line, saying guys aren’t training hard enough when results aren’t right,” McCullum told TalkSport after the match.

Pietersen, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), had said: “I’m sorry, but I am absolutely gobsmacked that England did not have ONE team practice session since losing the 1st ODI and losing the T20 series. How can this be? Seriously, how?

I believe Joe Root was the only player to have a net this series, post-Nagpur. There isn’t a single sportsman on this planet who can honestly say, that they’d improve without practicing whilst they’re getting beaten. There also cannot be one player in that England side that can sit on the plane leaving India and saying to themselves, they did everything they can to try help England win. And for that, I’m am actually incredibly sad this evening.

Losing is fine if you’re giving your best to improve everyday and if England didn’t train during this series then they didn’t try. Heartbreaking for any England fan!”

I’m sorry, but I am absolutely gobsmacked that England did not have ONE team practice session since losing the 1st ODI and losing the T20 series.

How can this be?

Seriously, how?

I believe Joe Root was the only player to have a net this series, post Nagpur.

There isn’t a…

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) February 12, 2025

While calling Shastri and Pietersen’s statement incorrect, McCullum didn’t go on to suggest that his team had multiple training sessions over the course of the series in India. With the Champions Trophy coming up, McCullum said that the larger objective was to keep his players fit for the ICC event.

“We have got a style and a method we believe in, guys who are batting injuries. (We are) trying to make sure we have got enough bodies out in the field knowing that we have a huge assignment coming up in a week or two,” said McCullum. “Ultimately it’s factually incorrect what is being said. We disagree with it and we will stay true with what we believe in.”

England suffered an embarrassing 3-0 ODI series defeat and 4-1 T20I series defeat at the hands of India in their recently-concluded tour, and legendary India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has launched a scathing criticism on them. In particular, Ashwin expressed disappointment at how lightly England seemingly took the series, and also emphasized his disapproval of excuses used by England following their defeats. In particular, England opener Ben Duckett came under the hammer from Ashwin after he’d said that they don’t mind losing the series 3-0 as long as England beat India in the Champions Trophy.

“If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final in the Champions Trophy. No one will probably look back on this series if we go and do the business in that competition,” Duckett had said after the 3-0 ODI series defeat.

Ashwin sharply responded to Duckett’s statements.

“No matter what Ben Duckett says, going into the Champions Trophy this series loss will create a big dent to their confidence,” Ashwin said, speaking on his YouTube channel.

“Ben Duckett has said similar things in the past too, saying Yashasvi Jaiswal has learnt to play aggressive cricket from England’s Bazball style. I know Ben Duckett and his penchant for humour, but this was no joke and it is like you are hiding your failures behind humour,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin also criticized the fact that England players seem to look for excuses after a series defeat. He also stated that the England team has been in a slump for a fair while now.

“Your 2023 ODI World Cup was pretty bad as well. It isn’t like they are in bad form over 2-3 months. It has been the case for four years now. Despite having such a talented group they are not able to justify their potential,” Ashwin stated.

“Even in Test cricket, I read somewhere a few days ago that Ben Stokes said that he doesn’t understand the points system of the WTC. My only advice to him is that if you don’t understand the points system, then first go and understand it. This is not a joke. Every time you lose, you bring up such lame excuses,” Ashwin said.

England will face Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan in what is expected to be a closely-fought group in the Champions Trophy 2025. England finished behind all three nations at the 2023 World Cup.

England captain Jos Buttler addresses the media on the eve of the first T20 cricket match of the series against India, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on January 21, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

England captain Jos Buttler looked forward to working with new white ball coach Brendon McCullum.

On the eve of the five-match T20I series opener against India, Buttler said building the captain-coach alliance would be his priority.

“It’s not a new set-up because Baz (McCullum) has been around for a while and obviously there are a lot of players in this squad who have been with him in the Test set-up for a number of years already. Just looking forward to building that relationship in the white ball set-up,” said Buttler.

The England captain said the team management had not spoken about future big events and remained focussed on the present.

About the heavily loaded T20 schedule in the run-up to the 50-over Champions Trophy, Buttler said, “I’m not too worried about schedules or anything at the moment. I’m just looking forward to playing some matches.”

England coach Brendon McCullum on Monday described his Indian counterpart Gautam Gambhir as a “strong leader of men”, backing him to achieve success with the national team in near future. Gambhir, who took over as India’s head coach across formats after India’s title winning campaign in the T20 World Cup last year, has faced intense scrutiny after the team’s dismal outings against New Zealand and Australia. But the former New Zealand captain McCullum has backed his former KKR teammate to come good in his role.

“What I will say about Gautam Gambhir is that I’ve worked with him before. He’s an outstanding leader. He’s a really strong leader of men, and in the time that he’s had in any sort of leadership positions he’s held previously, he’s been able to excel,” McCullum told reporters here.

“He’s only just sort of got underway with this team, but I have no doubt that he’ll get the best out of the talent that he’s got. And then we’ve (England) got to find a way to be able to counter that with our own style,” the former New Zealand swashbuckler added.

India suffered an unprecedented 0-3 whitewash against the Kiwis at home and then lost to Australia 1-3 away, which dashed their hopes of qualifying for a third straight World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Gambhir’s tenure got off to a rocky start as India lost a bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years in last August.

Under Gambhir, India, though, won against Bangladesh at home.

Since taking over the reigns, Gambhir has been expressing strong opposition to the Indian’s star culture, eventually forcing the BCCI to crack the whip by formulating a 10-point guidelines.

But many have also criticised Gambhir’s coaching style after the team lost six of 10 Tests and a bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka under him.

On the topic of coaching styles and philosophies, McCullum said, “I really don’t know… Sometimes I had enough, like, if coach is the right word, to be honest. It’s sort of, I think everyone does things really differently, and everyone’s approaches are very unique.” McCullum, who is in the country with the England team for the upcoming limited-overs series against India, believes the best way to go about the job is by creating a “happy environment” for players to excel.

“You know, from how I try and operate, I think it’s probably less of a coach and more about trying to make sure that the environment is a happy and enjoyable one, where you guys feel as if they can push their talents and push themselves towards uncomfortable situations, knowing that there’s still going to be that support and care there afterwards and be encouraged to go again go towards those.

“Other coaches are very different. They like to run things in a quite structured, quite technical way. Other coaches are probably a bit more regimented in how they go about things, but I guess it’s fairly different,” McCullum said.

As India kickstarts the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy tomorrow at Perth’s Optus Stadium, young opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal is gearing up for his biggest assignment till yet. Jaiswal, who made his Test debut last year in West Indies, has made a strong impressing in his career so far. In 14 Tests, Jaiswal has scored 1,407 runs with the help of eight half-centuries and three tons. He is also India’s leading run-scorer in Tests this year, having amassed 1,119 runs so far.

Jaiswal will look to break multiple records in Australia. He needs two sixes to leapfrog Brendon McCullum in the list of most sixes in a calendar year in Test cricket.

McCullum smashed 33 sixes in 2014 while Jaiswal has registered 32 already this year. Also, he needs just 219 runs to become the leading run scorer in Tests this year.

Currently, England’s Joe Root tops the scoring charts in  2024, having scored 1,338 runs.

Ahead of the 1st Test, Jaiswal spoke about his admiration for star India batter Virat Kohli, how he has been in touch with him since he started playing for India and how he finds motivation from the 36-year-old veteran’s consistency and discipline on and off the field.

Speaking in a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jaiswal said, “When I started playing like senior cricket, I did speak to Virat Paji that how he managed himself. Paji has said to me that if I want to play all that cricket, then I have to be disciplined in my daily routines and follow the process. So I have seen him doing the stuff consistently day by day. Actually seeing him, it motivates me a lot to put in the work and do something and make a difference in my habits, which is really important for me. I feel like I will be better day by day.”

Speaking about his debut trip to Australia, Jaiswal said that though things are different here, he really looks forward to playing and facing those different conditions head on.

“It is my first trip to Australia. I am very excited to play here. I want to play well and do well. It is different here. The ball is different, the wicket is different. But I think we know that. I think we are ready mentally,” he said.

“I really want to be in. I want to go in. I want to see it. I want to be there. Because people, a lot of time they talk about stuff. This happened, that happened. But I want to go and face it and I want to enjoy that moment with a smile. That is all I think about.

(With ANI Inputs)