Thursday, 27 November 2025
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Gautam Gambhir’s string of errors has not only shaped the narrative of India’s 0–2 defeat to South Africa but has begun to define a troubling new era in Indian Test cricket.
Decisions that appear impulsive rather than inspired have fuelled a backlash, with fans calling for his removal and experts questioning his judgment.
The slide has been stark: five defeats in seven home Tests across just thirteen months — a downturn unprecedented in India’s cricketing history — leaving the team hollow in confidence and heavy with questions about the direction Gambhir has set.
The players have fallen short, yes, but the coach’s blueprint has not helped them rediscover belief.
Obsession with all rounders
The obsession with all rounders has become the most evident faultline. In both the Tests, India fielded three all rounders.
The selection philosophy unravelled almost instantly. At Eden Gardens only Ravindra Jadeja stood tall with the ball, collecting five wickets.
Washington Sundar was pushed to number three in the batting order and scraped 29 and 39 in a low scoring match.
In Guwahati, Jadeja again carried the workload with six wickets. Sundar and Nitish Reddy offered little with the ball. With the bat Sundar’s 48 and Jadeja’s 54 were thin offerings against a Proteas side far more assured. Nitish Reddy’s inclusion returned nothing at all.
Akash Deep’s omission rankled as one more selection that refused logic. He was in the squad. He had shown quality with bat and ball in England earlier this year.
In three Tests there he picked 13 wickets at an economy of 4.34 and compiled a critical 66 as a night watchman at The Oval. Yet Gambhir preferred Reddy. It backfired.
“Test cricket demands a different mentality. So many all rounders, so many changes, so many reshuffles in the batting order… new players in every other match and dropping two players, this cannot go on,” said former India captain and coach Anil Kumble.
Selection inconsistency
Selection inconsistency has become another hallmark. Sarfaraz Khan struck a century against New Zealand and failed in the next two Tests.
Since then he has not been given a place in the XI. Karun Nair played in England and was dropped for the next series, never tested in home conditions where he could have flourished.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s form has been impossible to ignore. He scored 117 against South Africa A this month, a 116 in the Ranji Trophy in October and 184 in the Duleep Trophy. Still selectors and coach have continued to look past him.
With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired, India are thin on batting.
Gambhir’s constant tinkering has frayed whatever remained of the team’s stability. Only the West Indies have used more players than India in Test cricket since September 2024.
Only 3-4 specialist batters
A core of just three or four specialist batters has become the norm. Against South Africa, India played only three specialists in both Tests. Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L. Rahul featured in both matches. Shubman Gill played the first and Sai Sudharsan the second.
In Guwahati’s first innings they mustered 95 between them. The rest from number four to seven could only gather 23. Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel perished to risky strokes in a format that demands patience, not panicked invention.
Too many batting order inconsistencies
The batting order has been in perpetual reshuffle. Washington Sundar batted at number three in Kolkata. Sudharsan took the same slot in Guwahati.
Before them Karun Nair was tested. No one has been given a rope long enough to grow roots.
The number three position once held firm through Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara now lies unclaimed.
Number five has fared no better with Pant, Jurel and Jadeja moved through it. This was a slot once anchored by V.V.S. Laxman and Ajinkya Rahane. Constant experimentation has dismantled the spine of India’s Test batting.
The need for rank turners
The call for rank turners has also clouded judgement. India crossed 300 once in six innings during the 0-3 defeat to New Zealand in 2024.
Against South Africa the highest score was 201 across four innings. Kolkata’s rank turner in the first Test baffled many and only deflated a line up already tentative.
The team management corrected the pitch for the second Test but South Africa arrived better prepared, less rattled by conditions and more confident in their plans.
Lack of quality spinners
A dwindling supply of quality finger spinners has compounded India’s woes. From 2013 to 2023, India’s dominance in Asia was engineered by the partnership of Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja.
After last year’s clean sweep at home by New Zealand, Ashwin retired as India’s second top wicket taker.
On the Australia tour, Washington Sundar was prioritised over him and he never returned.
Ashwin was a strike bowler, a threat in all conditions. Without him Jadeja stands alone and the new captain has struggled to use him with the finesse that M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli once did.
The focus on spin all rounders such as Sundar and Axar Patel has yielded workmen but not wicket takers.
In domestic cricket there are specialist finger spinners such as Sai Kishore, Saransh Jain and Saurabh Kumar. None has been granted opportunity.
The Gambhir era is still young but the patterns are old. Selection muddle, tactical gambles, instability in batting and an unending search for all rounders have dimmed India’s Test identity.
What remains is a team out of rhythm, a fan base out of patience and a coach out of easy answers.
