It was a show of utter humiliation for Team India at Guwahati as they slipped to an embarrassing 2-0 whitewash against South Africa for the first time at home since 2000. This was also India’s second home series whitewash within the 12-month period.
Gone are those days when India acted as a graveyard for the touring teams. The star-studded test outfit under the leadership of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni stoked fear in the hearts and minds of the opposition just for fun. But those golden years have fast evaporated in thin air under the Gautam Gambhir (GG) era as the team grapples to maintain their Test legacy at home.
So what’s gone wrong with the Indian test side in the past 12 months? And why are the touring teams having the better of the home side at the expense of their diehard fans? Here are three primary reasons that have contributed to the team’s steep decline in home tests
Absence of senior pros like Kohli and Ashwin
Ever since the departure of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ravi Ashwin, Team India’s Test dominance at home has significantly diminished. Their absence from the team has created a void that the current crop of young cricketers cannot fill.
Back in the day, both Rohit and Kohli proved to be a dominant force at the top of the order. Pujara offered a rock-solid resistance at no.3 position. And Aswhin, lower down the order, offered flexibility with the bat and the ball. But without the senior superstars, the young Indian test side has entered a transition phase, which has inadvertently exposed their vulnerabilities against strong teams.
The top order, apart from Shubman Gill, looks far from secured. Yashasvi Jaiswal has been troubled by quality seam bowling at the top, whereas the no.3 position is still up for grabs.
Washington Sundar has shown some promise with the bat and the ball, but he is in his early days. He might be viewed as someone who could fill Ashwin’s shoes. But for that to happen, the youngster will have to demonstrate his might with the ball, a trait that went missing in the recent series.
Overreliance on rank turners
India’s inclination to opt for rank turners has backfired immensely. This was a ploy that was strategically deployed since the early 2000s in a bid to bowl out teams cheaply. For nearly two decades, the plan worked, as the visiting teams often found themselves bogged down by India’s then-spin-heavy attack.
Back then, we were fortunate enough to see some quality spinners emerge through the ranks. Harbhajan Singh, Ravi Ashwin, and the great Anil Kumble proved to be highly successful and fared exceptionally well on these surfaces. But as is often the case, everything is subject to change. What previously worked for you may not always work for you all the time.
The visiting teams, who are wary of India’s tactics to roll out rank turners, have a plethora of spin bowling resources at their disposal. Moreover, India’s ability to play spin has dwindled in recent times, further adding to their woes.
In the 2024 New Zealand series, it was Ajaz Patel and Mitch Santner who paired together to dismantle India 3-0. And in this series, it was Simon Harmer alone who single-handedly broke the back of the Indian team. If India are to regain their test dominance at home, they ought to play on balanced surfaces that have something to offer to the batters, pacers, and spinners alike.
Needless experimentation by head coach Gambhir
Team India’s woeful run in the red-ball format has been further compounded by Gautam Gambhir’s desire to indulge in needless experimentation.
Some of the selection calls made in the recently concluded South Africa Test series have been quite questionable from Gambhir. The Indian head coach was targeted for his decision to go in with four spinners at Eden Gardens.
Among them was Sundar, who could barely bowl three overs. What baffled the cricket experts even further was the fact that Sundar was promoted up the order at no.3 in the first test. Although Sundar did not disappoint, Gambhir’s reluctance to stick with that tactic made him draw the ire of the fans and former cricketers.
Moreover, he also found himself under the scanner for selecting Nitish Reddy in the second Test. Reddy was severely underbowled and could not offer any resistance with the bat either.
Many questioned his role in the side and wondered how he was able to secure his place in the playing XI at the expense of Axar Patel, who could have been a reliable asset lower down the order.
With two humiliating home series defeats in less than 12 months, pressure has already started to mount on Gambhir. While he continues to face the wrath of the ardent cricket fans, his tenure as a red-ball coach could well be numbered.
