It will be a understatement to say that the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is a crucial series for India head coach Gautam Gambhir. The former India opening batter, who made his name by playing gritty knocks under testing conditions, finds himself in the middle of a huge storm, after India lost the home Test series against New Zealand. There are several reports doing the rounds that Gambhir might be sacked as Test coach if India underperforms in Australia.

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that the upcoming series against Australia is really important for Gambhir, and it would be a test of his character and patience. However, the 'Turbanator' also reckons that it is not fair to pin the blame of the series loss against the Kiwis, on the former India opening batter.

After the loss against Kiwis, several reports emerged saying that Gambhir and the senior members of the team were not on the same page, regarding the choice of wickets. There was also a six-hour review meeting, in which BCCI officials sat down with Gambhir, captain Rohit Sharma and chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar to dissect the defeat, which was India's first-ever series whitewash at home (series consisting of three or more matches).

"Ever since Gautam has become the coach, he has not gone out there to bat, neither he has gone out to bowl. Suddenly he has become the coach and the results have gone down. The entire blame is being pinned on Gautam Gambhir," Harbhajan told Jatin Sapru on the latter's YouTube channel.

"He has not batted or bowled, the blame cannot be put on him. Your plan was to have turners, and the plan backfired. Knowing him, I think he has his heart in the right place. He always thinks about the team, it is way too early for us to judge him. Give him time. It is not easy to run big teams," he added.

'Gambhir must be feeling low'

The 44-year-old Harbhajan also believes that the upcoming five-match series against Australia will be a test of Gambhir's patience and anger, as he cannot control anything, sitting on the outside as the coach.

"It is difficult to run big teams, everyone takes time. If the results were fine, everyone would have said 'see, Gautam is making the team win'. The series against Australia is important, a lot of things will be tested. Gautam Gambhir who will be sitting outside, his anger and patience will be tested," said Harbhajan.

"He cannot control anything from the outside, big players get frustrated sitting on the sidelines. This Test, Gambhir needs to pass. The tour is very important for Gambhir. In this country, everyone has an opinion. Gautam Gambhir must be feeling low, he is on the radar. If the series doesn't go well, Gambhir will be at the receiving end. I want him to stay calm and for the team to perform well," he added.

Recently, Gambhir came under a lot of scrutiny, after he took offence to the comments made by Ricky Ponting, regarding the form of Virat Kohli. Speaking at the pre-departure press conference, Gambhir famously remarked, “Who is Ponting to comment on Indian cricket.”

Under Gautam Gambhir, India first suffered an ODI series loss against Sri Lanka after a gap of 27 years. Then, the side stumbled to a first home Test series loss in 12 years.

Talking about the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the series begins in Perth on November 22. Rohit Sharma won't be available for the first Test, as he has decided to stay back in Mumbai to spend time with his family. Rohit Sharma and his wife Ritika Sajdeh recently welcomed their second child, a baby boy.

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