For the first time since taking charge of the Indian cricket team as head coach in 2024, Gautam Gambhir was booed by a visibly agitated section of supporters at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, moments after the hosts suffered a staggering 408-run loss to South Africa in the second Test.
Angry fans from one of the stands began shouting "Gambhir hai hai, go back," the chants ringing loud inside the stadium that had just witnessed one of Indian cricket team's darkest home afternoons.
The coach briefly looked towards the gallery, only to turn his face away and refusing to react. The scenes quickly caught the attention of the players. At one point, several members of the playing XI found themselves staring in the direction of the commotion, the decibel levels forcing their focus away from the post-match huddle.
It was then that pacer Mohammed Siraj gestured at the crowd to keep quiet, signalling restraint. Soon after, Siraj and assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak walked up close to the gallery, appealing for calm.
The supporter backlash reflects a deeper simmering discontent. Gambhir has now become the only Indian coach since the start of the new millennium under whose tenure the India national cricket team has lost five Tests at home, a staggering indictment for a side that had turned home advantage into an impregnable fortress over the last two decades.
The 408-run drubbing of India, the heaviest home Test defeat by margin of runs, ensured a humbling clean sweep for South Africa.