Fans chant ‘Gautam Gambhir haye haye’ after India’s historic defeat; Shastri slams selection chaos

The collapse of the Indian cricket team during the second Test match against South Africa led to an outpouring of anger and frustration from the fans present at Barsapara Stadium, culminating in a chant directed at head coach Gautam Gambhir — "Gautam Gambhir haye haye". This collapse was the result of a comprehensive defeat by 408 runs, which marks the largest margin of victory recorded historically for India in Test cricket. In addition, this has turned scrutiny on Gambhir as a coach, with many fans and analysts blaming him for what they perceive to be a result of ineffective strategy and leadership.

Why ‘Gautam Gambhir haye haye’ echoed across Guwahati

The chant "Gautam Gambhir haye haye" was a reflection of the growing level of frustration felt by many individuals in Guwahati, following what was a stunning outcome for South Africa — their first-ever Test series win in India and a 2-0 whitewash. In addition, under Gambhir's coaching, India has lost five home tests in slightly over a year, and many fans were quick to conclude that this failure signified a breakdown in planning, tactics and team balance. When the players left the field after completion of play, segments of the crowd directed chants of "Gambhir haye haye", "Gambhir go back" towards management rather than simply the team members on the field of play. Additionally, as one fan was identified as being responsible for initiating the chants, police detained that individual.

Ravi Shastri, former head coach of India, spoke out against problems in batting order selection leading to this collapse and said that shifting the batting order numerous times and using multiple spinners on Tuesday without an identifiable strategy makes absolutely no sense. Shastri stated that Gamhir's management of the Indian National Team has no consistency in strategic thinking, and it cannot be overlooked that the players did not perform on surfaces that should have been easy wins for India, given the type of pitch.