On Day 5, the Guwahati lunch break was almost approaching. However, the game failed to do so. Gautam Gambhir‘s home record stood at an ugly 2-0 after South Africa won the series ahead of schedule. 9 played, 4 won, and 5 lost. The fact that all five of these losses occurred during the past 12 months diminishes the magnitude of India’s domestic muscle-flexing.
But Gambhir was adamantly opposed to the notion of lumping the two series losses—against South Africa and New Zealand—together. “Look, first of all, the series against New Zealand, we had a very different side,” stated Gambhir. “And this side is completely different. When you compare this batting lineup to that lineup, I’m sure you’ll quickly realise how different the experience of that lineup and that squad was from what this team has.”
In this case, Gambhir’s experience argument has some validity. When the New Zealand series began in October, Rohit Sharma was at the top of India’s top five, followed by Virat Kohli at number four and KL Rahul in the middle. Sarfaraz Khan, who hasn’t played since the series’ last Test, was also among the top five. Rather, India dropped Shubman Gill to #4, pushed Rahul back to the top, and left their one-drop intentions open. More on potential than runs from England, Sai Sudharsan managed to squeeze out Karun Nair in the #3 audition.
“It’s probably inaccurate to compare anything to New Zealand. If you notice that four or five of the top eight batters have actually played fewer than fifteen Test matches, they will continue to improve. While working, they are learning. In the field, they are learning. Test cricket is never simple when you’re up against a top-tier team.
“You must therefore provide them time as well. Therefore, I believe they will continue to study that. Let’s hope they continue to grow. That’s crucial. This is exactly what transition is, even though I detest using the term. When your batting lineup in Test cricket has played less than 15 to 18 Test matches, they require time to adjust to the pressure. To continue improving against quality teams and great assaults, they require time.
However, this may be where the point is lost. You may contend that players like Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, and Washington Sundar are still receiving top-tier training, but are they truly benefiting from the team management’s continual shifting of them in the batting lineup?
Washington alone has batted in six different positions in the last eight Test innings, but Shubman Gill’s injury prompted a change. By placing him at number three in Kolkata and then dropping him to number eight in Guwahati a week later, India appeared to have figured out a tactical trick. Furthermore, India’s transition issue has extended beyond its batting issues.
Although they lost two well-known players there, Ravichandran Ashwin’s departure in December 2024 may have caused them more harm.
India has yet to produce a quality or even promising off-spinner who could gradually bridge the gap. In domestic cricket, no one has ever been able to rally around a truckload of bowling. India’s current off-spinner, Washington Sundar, has played more Test matches (17) than first-class matches (16) for Tamil Nadu as of Wednesday night. There is a clear paucity of expertise in India’s spin direction, even if you ignore the glaring stylistic mismatch between Ashwin and Washington.
Gambhir stated, “Look, that’s why we are giving as many opportunities as we can to someone like Washi,” referring to India’s off-spin stocks. “However, it is unjust to expect Washi to perform as well as Ashwin did right away after playing in over 100 Test matches. Who is he? Test matches from 10-12-15 (16). He’s picking up his skills. He is learning how to bowl under various circumstances. He is also learning how to bowl in various contexts. Needless to say, losing so many seasoned players at once is difficult.
The prevailing team culture is another reason why India has faith in Washington to step up and take over. Gambhir may have been forced to include as many all-rounders as possible in an attempt to offset batting quality with quantity after losing Rohit and Kohli. That helped the squad with some lower-order runs during the initial phase of transition on flat wickets in England, when Washington wasn’t a main bowling supply.
He bowled 74.1 overs there, which was far less than all of the pacers who carried out the majority of the hard lifting and nearly half of what Ravindra Jadeja bowled.
In India, things shift, plans change, and the roles are reversed. In these two Tests, he continued to provide a lot of batting, but he also had to be one of the primary bowling characters because to the conditions. The South African of his kind, Simon Harmer, easily outbowled him despite his strong bowling in certain parts.
Experience also plays a part in this. Harmer became the first South African to reach 1000 first-class wickets when he landed in India. He finished the series with 17 wickets, demonstrating the years and effort it took to get there by constantly attacking the Indian top order.
That’s the reason it’s called transition. I don’t believe that anything like has ever occurred in Indian cricket, where both the batting and spin bowling departments are undergoing a shift. Your squad typically goes through a bowling transition once your batting is secure or experienced. However, Gambhir noted, “It’s clear that both skill sets are changing with this Test team.”
Harmer also benefited from a vacation to Pakistan before to the event, which gave him a taste of Asian circumstances. Following the series victory, Temba Bavuma talked about making all effort to get ready for their trip to India. India also intentionally fell behind in this regard.
Up to November 8, India was in Australia participating in the Twenty20 International series; the Eden Gardens Test began less than a week later.
Kuldeep Yadav was sent back to Bengaluru for A matches, although Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Jasprit Bumrah did not return right away.
“Look, obviously scheduling does make a difference,” Gambhir observed. “Consider that we were in Australia three days prior to the first Test match commencing. After returning from that trip, you are abruptly required to join a test team and have two days to organise with the test side. That’s not an excuse I’ll make either. We can definitely prioritise this more effectively at times.
“We may start working on certain skill sets by having more gaps in the centre. They had two extremely skilled spinners because they had been working on a particular skill set for two days, and we always knew that they had good spinners.
Thus, for a Test team, that would have always been difficult,” Gambhir said.
Despite all of the factors that India had to deal with at home, South Africa was a sobering reminder of the new reality: India may be defeated at home. Gambhir’s coaching profile has been negatively impacted by that change, which has led to concerns about his continued suitability for the position.
Regarding his future, Gambhir stated, “It is up to the BCCI to decide.” “When I took over as head coach, I made that statement at my first press conference. I am not important; Indian cricket is. Additionally, I say the exact same thing while I sit here.
And it’s true that people can continue to forget about it. I am the same person who, with a youthful squad, achieved success in England. And because everyone is talking about New Zealand, I’m sure you guys will forget it as soon as possible. He then on, “And I’m the same guy who won the Asia Cup and the Champions Trophy.”
Under Gambhir, India may add another significant white-ball trophy to their cabinet before their next Test match in the second half of 2026. However, when it comes time to play Tests again, the story will always return to the domestic weaknesses and the lessons that could be learnt.
India
