As India’s crisis under Gautam Gambhir worsens, BCCI faces tough questions over selectors, scheduling and squad choices

India’s Test slump is shared dilemma, and the need of the hour is to have an honest evaluation of players, support staff, selectors, pitches, and preparation.

Kapil Dev, Gary Kirsten, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid have been some of the most high-profile Indian men's team coaches in the past, but one thing can be said for sure: none of them was a topic for the public chatter as much as Gautam Gambhir is. The former India opening batter, who took over from Dravid from July 2024, was known for his grit and never-ending fight during his playing days, and such qualities came in handy on the big occasions - be it the T20 World Cup 2007 final, the 2011 World Cup final or the famous Napier Test in 2009. All these times, Gambhir stepped up and how?

Gautam Gambhir has lost the Test series against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa as the head coach. (PTI)

Throughout his playing career, Gambhir remained one of the fiercest cricketers and had the knack of giving it back when provoked. Ask Shahid Afridi, Shane Watson, and Kamran Akmal. But what works for you as a player might not have the same impact when you decide to sit in the backroom as a coach. After leading KKR to an IPL title win after 10 years as its mentor, the BCCI felt Gambhir was the most suitable candidate to coach the Indian team.

Gambhir entered India’s coaching system after three years of mentorship in the IPL, including two years with Lucknow Super Giants and one year with KKR. The former Indian opening batter was expected to change the fortunes around and turn India into a juggernaut that rarely loses. However, 18 months into his role, the picture is far from rosy, and the complications are evident to everyone, especially in Tests. But is Gambhir the sole reason behind India's decline in the toughest format of the game?

Ever since taking over, India's Test decline has been alarming, with losses against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. The first Test assignment under him was the home series against Bangladesh, which the hosts won 2-0. The World Test Championship (WTC) final was well within sight, and only a series sweep was needed over New Zealand. However, the Kiwis rocked up, enforcing a whitewash, India's first-ever on home soil in a three-match series. A defeat against Australia was widely predicted, but few anticipated India’s meek surrender, to the point that even a draw in Brisbane sparked dressing-room celebrations.

The demolition Down Under served as a catalyst for Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's Test retirements, and the duo called time on their careers before the series against England. Gambhir was then asked about having a team in transition and getting the desired results in the UK. Shubman Gill was named the Test captain, and the young maverick batter came up with a 2-2 draw. Everyone's hopes got back on track once again after a young side managed to keep Ben Stokes and co at bay despite losing senior players just days before the squad announcement for the tour.

However, reality dawned three months later as South Africa once again laid bare the wounds by defeating India 2-0 in the two-Test series, marking India's second series defeat on home soil in a year. Under Gambhir, India have played 19 Tests, winning seven, losing 10 and drawing 2 with a win percentage of 36.82. These stats are only better than Duncan Fletcher, who had a win percentage of 33.33 in the 39 Tests he oversaw. However, this record pales in comparison to Rahul Dravid (58.33 in 24 Tests), Ravi Shastri (58.13 in 43 Tests), Anil Kumble (70.59 in 17 Tests), Gary Kirsten (48.49 in 33 Tests), and Greg Chappell (38.89 in 18 Tests).

The internet loves to have a go at Gambhir, and the current head coach is being pinned down as the sole reason behind India's recent debacle in Tests, but anyone who understands sport and knows the nitty-gritty of cricket is aware that no single member of the support staff is responsible for a stark decline in fortunes. Sure enough, Gambhir also needs a finer understanding of Test cricket and the respect it deserves, but there are several other reasons why a once-winning juggernaut has crumbled into a pale shadow of itself.

Can Gambhir go out to bat?

Gambhir plays a key role in selecting India’s XI and has indeed been guilty of playing the wrong combination on several occasions by preferring bits-and-pieces all-rounders like Nitish Kumar Reddy. But is the former India opening to be blamed when the side fails to chase the target of 124 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, against the Proteas? Take out Shubman Gill’s neck injury, but it becomes tough to justify when the rest of the batting lineup, comprising Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja, was inept in showing fight and game awareness?

Spewing venom on Gambhir is easy, and scapegoating is loose talk, but it doesn’t need a rocket scientist to realise that India’s art of playing spinners has long gone. Rohit, Kohli, and even the youngsters today look fragile tackling spin on home soil on pitches that offer even the slightest amount of turn. Gambhir himself was a master of playing spin, charging down the wicket, and rotating the strike; one of his biggest challenges now is getting his batters to take a leaf out of his book.

Cracks have also formed around India's fielding, with multiple catches being dropped. Against England and South Africa, several, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, showed butter fingers. Even the bowling attack, which has enough experience in the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja, looks completely at sea when offered with placid conditions. Look no further than the recent Guwahati Test. For long, India have been playing on rank turners and the bowlers have clearly lost the art of prising out batters by developing pressure.

Transition or no-transition

Gambhir himself has issued contradictory statements regarding the transition. In England, the head coach said that he doesn't believe in this word, but he brought the matter up when South Africa inflicted a 2-0 loss. The former India opener can say anything he wants, but the side will feel the loss of Kohli, Rohit and Ravichandran Ashwin. The trio formed the pillars of the Test side, and their void cannot be easily filled by any player, let alone the coach.

Experience is the most invaluable commodity in any sport, and India will bear the brunt of phasing out the seniors in such a hurried manner, and only Gambhir can't be responsible, as the rest of the stakeholders – the selection committee and the BCCI are equally to blame.

Scheduling has also complicated India’s Test performances: they entered the West Indies series just five days after the Asia Cup final, with a similar turnaround before the South Africa series. The first Test against the Proteas came just four days after the final T20I Down Under. With no gaps between matches and hardly any breathing period between formats, players have fallen prey to subpar performances, and the workload issue for them is immense. Most notably, Gill, who was earmarked as the all-format captain, has suffered back-to-back injuries while on the road for almost nine months, and he’s only 26.

Is Gambhir the only one deciding on strategy?

If the notion ‘Gambhir is running a one-man show’ is to be believed, it sheds light on the roles of the rest of the decision-makers. A coach can never select the playing XI alone, and Gambhir has reiterated time and again that his job is to only assist the skipper. India erred in having a rank turner in Kolkata, but why didn't his batters and captain tell him that the strategy could backfire? Are the current batters unable to read the room and recognise their weaknesses? What's the main selector Ajit Agarkar doing?

For months now, domestic performers such as Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal have been overlooked. Even Karun Nair was shown the door just after one poor series with the bat, a tough away tour in England. Gambhir, more often than not, faces brickbats for constantly choosing all-rounders in the playing XI and rightly so. But what is leading Agarkar not to pick more specialists in the squad?

Why are IPL performances still being given the preference for picking the Test squad? The head coach can only work around with the squad he's handed out, and if Agarkar gets his house in order by naming more domestic performers, the team management will clearly be forced to have tried and tested operators in the batting lineup rather than having white-ball players, who rely more on hope rather than experience of grinding it out.

Gambhir’s stint in Tests is not yielding the desired results; however, there are several reasons behind this stark decline. Placing all the eggs in one basket by blaming Gambhir ignores real issues and shifts responsibility away from the players. In reality, India’s Test slump is a shared dilemma, and the need of the hour is to have an honest evaluation of players, support staff, selectors, pitches, preparation, and coaching as well. However, this simplistic scapegoating needs to be addressed.