Gautam Gambhir became the head coach of the Indian cricket team in July 2024, taking over from Rahul Dravid. No question, Indian cricket team’s guidance by Gambhir has been winning the white-ball cricket but they are not really good at the longest format of the game, Test cricket.
In the current home Test series, against the WTC champions South Africa, the team is about to record another embarrassing loss in Test matches, a loss of 30 runs in the first Test already.
Gambhir has been widely criticized by fans and experts through social media for his coaching record being the main cause of India’s recent Test failures.
India’s Test Cricket at it’s all time low under Gautam Gambhir
After Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach, India played 18 Test matches, of which they captured 7 victories only. The number of draws was 2 while the number of losses 9. The latter stands out like a sore thumb because not only is the head coach’s record behind them but also the brilliant significance is completely muddled by these defeats.
The process of Indian Test team’s downfall is unrealistic – where once being unbeatable at home, they have now lost the very ability they had on spinning tracks.
IND vs NZ, 2024: A home Test defeat after 36 years
The first chapter of destruction started with the India vs New Zealand Test series in October 2024. India, the second most successful Test nation in recent history, suffered a home defeat against the Kiwis in a Test match for the first time in 36 years. The Kiwis under Tom Latham defeated the home side by 8 wickets in Bengaluru.
And that was not all. For the first time in history, India was not able to make more than 50 runs in an innings during home Tests in the same match. The Kiwis dismissed the Indians for a mere 46 runs in the first innings.
Kiwis beat India, 3-0 for the first time ever
New Zealand, the winner of the WTC 2021 cycle, has not only defeated India for the first time ever on Indian soil but also won the series with a clean sweep of 3-0 against the Rohit Sharma-led team.
This series loss put an end to India’s unbeaten run at home that started in 2012.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy vs Australia (1-3 loss)
The troubles of the Indian team continued further in the land down under: Gambhir and his team partly redeemed the situation with an emphatic victory at Perth. However, soon India lost the momentum, and the all-important Border-Gavaskar series went down the drain. This saw India out of the race for the WTC in June 2025.
South Africa take first Test in India for 15 years
From a position of strength in the ongoing Guhawati Test, South Africa has their eyes set on only their second Test series win in India and the first since the 2-0 victory in 2000 when they won in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Speaking of which, the Indian team’s dismal record in Test matches under Gambhir’s captaincy has been a matter of concern in the country. If the Indian team suffers yet another embarrassing defeat, then Gambhir’s ability and his future with the national team will be put to question.
