Why a Test giant has shockingly imploded… and everyone is blaming one ‘chaotic’ man

India coach Gautam Gambhir is under fire for his dismal record and surrender of his team’s once-mighty aura playing at home, after a shocking 2-0 series loss to South Africa — which follows a 3-0 loss to New Zealand a year ago.

The retirement of greats like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, and the subsequent haphazard path forward devised by Gambhir, is drawing heavy scrutiny. So too is a batting malaise that Ashwin says ranks India, inexplicably, as one of the world’s worst teams at playing spin bowling.

While India drew 2-2 in England after a stunning series from new captain Shubman Gill, the capitulation against World Test Champion South Africa is raising the heat on the team and its abrasive coach. First they were rolled on a terrible Kolkata pitch that was prepared as ordered, then condemned to their heaviest-ever Test loss by runs in Guwahati.

Watch The Ashes 2025/26 LIVE and ad-break free during play with FOX CRICKET on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Writing for the Indian Express, Sriram Veera said that Gambhir’s team had trashed India’s aura when playing at home.

“Beating India in India in Test cricket used to be a career goal, a dream for most overseas teams. The ‘final frontier’ as the Australian great Baggy Green-er Steve Waugh termed it. Even he never managed to breach the fortress,” Veera wrote.

“These days, that dream is selling free, along with flight tickets to India. First New Zealand with a 3-0 whitewash, without their talisman Kane Williamson, and now South Africa, without their lodestar Kagiso Rabada. And Gautam Gambhir has been the coach who has watched Rome burn on both occasions.

“Seldom has a long-held dominant home record been surrendered so meekly.

“Playing Test cricket in India used to be a bewitching dream for overseas players, now it’s a nightmare for Indians.”

Jasprit Bumrah with India coach Gautam Gambhir.Source: Getty Images

Writing for the New Indian Express, Swaroop Swaminathan said that it was time for the Board of Control for Cricket in India to have a serious discussion about Gambhir and his red-ball coaching credentials. Gambhir’s Test coaching record is seven wins, 10 losses, two draws — and they have somehow lost five of nine Tests at home.

“It’s fair to say that the manner of their defeats in Kolkata and Guwahati raised several eyebrows. The questionable shot selections. A lack of application. Muddled team selections. Ignoring specialists. Not picking a right-handed batter in reserve knowing your first XI as well as your reserve middle-order batter are southpaws. When you stop controlling things within your control, you also lose control of the uncontrollables,” Swaminathan wrote.

“It’s why there has to be an honest conversation about Gautam Gambhir. When does the BCCI look at Gambhir’s credentials as a red-ball coach? Granted, his white-ball set-up has given them two big titles in 2025 (the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup) but ever since he has come in, the team’s red-ball programme has taken a hit. If it’s not working out — and there’s no shame in admitting it — the time is ripe for Gambhir and his employers to have a conversation.

“Sure, there are big mitigating reasons for why Gambhir has presided over a historic loss during a year of historic defeats and bad losses. It’s a team in transition having lost three of its most influential players within a 10 month period. Any team would struggle without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin. In Kolkata, they essentially played with 10 men for the majority of the Test as soon as Shubman Gill was out with an injury.

“But where was the succession planning to ensure the red ball set-up wouldn’t suffer the abrupt loss of 190 Tests, over 13000 runs and 42 100s (not to mention 106 matches and 537 wickets)?”

READ MORE

Forgotten Aussie’s big reminder; what shock Lyon hint means for Gabba — Selection State of Play

‘Make them grovel’: India on brink of disaster as one word sparks angry backlash

‘Like school kids’: India coach blasted, players ‘not ready for the level’ after South Africa sweep

India head coach Gautam Gambhir.Source: AFP

Writing for The Times of India, Hijam Raju Singh said that Gambhir’s tenure had been ill-conceived.

“Team India’s latest humiliation at the hands of South Africa has laid bare the deepening cracks in India’s Test cricket structure under head coach Gautam Gambhir. The 408-run mauling in Guwahati — India’s biggest defeat by runs in their Test history — not only sealed a 0-2 series whitewash but amplified concerns over the direction, selection, and clarity of the red-ball set-up.,” Singh wrote.

“Under Gambhir, India’s Test journey has been turbulent, even chaotic. The team has featured constant chopping and changing, unstable batting positions, injured or retired stalwarts, and an over-reliance on all-rounders — all adding to the perception of muddled planning. India have now slipped to 10 defeats in 19 Tests under the former opener, and worryingly, their once iron-clad home record has eroded at an unprecedented pace.

“Gambhir’s India have won only two of six Test series, a stark contrast to the stability and dominance that defined the previous decade. With questions now growing louder about selection strategy, temperament, and lack of clear vision, Indian Test cricket appears to be entering one of its most uncertain phases.”

And those series wins? Against Bangladesh and West Indies.

Gautam Gambhir, left, talks to Yashasvi Jaiswal during a practice session.Source: AP

Writing for the Hindustan Times, Probuddha Bhattacharjee said that Gambhir’s tenure had been chaotic enough to challenge the infamous India coaching reign of Australian great Greg Chappell. He wrote that Gambhir was clearly India’s worst Test coach this century, at least statistically.

“For years, Greg Chappell’s name has been shorthand for chaos in Indian cricket. Now, after another defeat in Guwahati, Gautam Gambhir’s red-ball record has gone to a place even Chappell never reached – a Test side losing almost two out of every three matches it plays,” Bhattacharjee wrote.

“Strip away all the drama, the noise, and the nostalgia for past regimes. On cold numbers alone, Gambhir’s India in Test cricket is sitting at a loss percentage that no other modern Indian coach comes close to.

“On ideas, selection, and dressing-room mood, fans will keep arguing. But if the question is purely statistical – Is Gautam Gambhir India’s worst red-ball coach of the modern era? The loss column has already answered it.”

Gautam Gambhir (L) looks on at the end of the fifth day of the second Test.Source: AFP

Gambhir gave a fiery press conference after the South African humiliation was complete, saying he took the blame and made no excuses — before blaming everything from scheduling to his batters’ poor mental application. He said that the team was in genuine transition mode and glaringly inexperienced.

“Test cricket is never easy when you’re playing against a top quality side. So you’ve got to give them time as well,” he said.

“So for me, I think that is something they’ll keep learning. Hopefully they keep learning, that is important. Because I know that I hate using this word transition. This is exactly what transition is.

“When you’ve got in Test cricket, when you’ve got your batting line-up which has literally played less than 15-20 Test matches, they need time to absorb pressure, they need time to keep getting better against quality attacks and against quality sides.”

Gautam Gambhir (R) shakes hands with South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma after losing the first Test in Kolkata.Source: AP

Ashwin — who sensationally quit Test cricket last year after being brought on the Australian tour, only to be snubbed by Gambhir for selection in a 3-1 series loss — said that India had inexplicably become one of the world’s worst teams at playing spin bowling. Proteas spinner Simon Harmer, with only a modest Test career to this point, took an outrageous 17 wickets at 8.94 in the two-Test thrashing.

Speaking on the Ash ki Baat show on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that India’s horrible batting was down to a lack of trust in defence and inability to use the sweep-shot as a counterattacking measure. He described the team’s efforts against South Africa as “absolutely shell-shocked pathetic batting”.

“The fact of the matter is how are our batters playing good defence to make Simon Harmer earn his wickets? You tell me something, barring Rishabh Pant’s ball which bounced, how many of our batters actually had good defence?” Ashwin said.

“If there’s fault in your defence, you’ll play shots. Many a times, we are also at fault. When these batters take on spinners and keep on playing big shots, we keep on saying that’s the way to play, that’s his game. No bhaisaab (brother), you have to play defence. All great cricketers have created their game around a solid defence.

“What is good batsmanship? Good batsmanship is mixing intent with defence. What is intent? When you can positively defend. I am harping on this that it is not about an individual I am talking about the failure to address our defence against spin. We are now probably one of the poorest spin-playing nations in the world.”

Jansen takes screamer to seal whitewash | 00:27

Fellow India legend Anil Kumble, a former coach, said that India had failed to adequately structure the team amid the loss of three greats.

“The results, especially today’s defeat to South Africa and the 3-0 loss to New Zealand, reflect broader issues beyond just outcomes,” Kumble said on JioStar.

“India appeared well-positioned in parts, but ultimately faltered. What’s needed is a different mindset for Test cricket; constant changes to the playing XI, batting orders, and frequent rotations prevent stability.

“While injuries and form dips are understandable, India must take time to deeply reflect. With the next Test only in August 2026, there is room for thoughtful discussion on the future direction of Indian Test cricket. The retirement of several key stalwarts in recent months has created a vacuum that requires clear vision and structured planning.

“The team needs a strong core of experienced players to support and nurture emerging talent. Introducing too many inexperienced players simultaneously without a solid foundation won’t work. A robust line-up with mostly seasoned players, complemented by one or two newcomers, is essential for sustained success.”

‘We wanted them to really grovel’ | 00:54

Veera wrote that: “Gambhir might like the personalities of a Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel but clearly they aren’t Test ready yet.” Former India player Parthiv Patel also criticised the make-up of the team.

“There are two things. One is the mistake of the coach. The batters and bowlers are doing their job. But the question is, are we playing the right XI? Does India need so many all-rounders in Test cricket?” Patel said.

“I believe that Test cricket is a game of specialists. You must have six batters. The best thing is you have a wicket-keeper batter who is among the best and who has an average of above 40. Then you need four bowlers and one all-rounder.

“Actually, we are blessed that we can call both Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar all-rounders because they bat and bowl well. Then you have Kuldeep, who is a good wrist-spinner and then two quality pacers. If it is a green wicket, then play an extra pacer.

“But that extra all-rounder, we have seen the value of a player increasing, and we have seen the difference by impact players come in the IPL. We are not playing with a proper batter or a proper bowler. I am not picking on Nitish Kumar Reddy, but I think this is important for India to change their thinking.”