It has been a challenging 16 months as India suffered their third Test series defeat under head coach Gautam Gambhir after South Africa secured a 2-0 series victory with a win in Guwahati on Wednesday. During this period, India were defeated 3-0 at home by New Zealand, lost 3-1 in Australia, and have now been beaten by the Proteas. Under Gautam Gambhir, India’s Test record currently stands at 7 wins, 10 losses, and 2 draws in 19 matches, resulting in a win percentage of just 36.82.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), though, has no plans to replace Gautam Gambhir from the position of head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team.
“The BCCI will not rush in taking any decision, the team is in a transition phase. As far as coach Gautam Gambhir is concerned, we will not take any decision on him as the World Cup is around the corner and his contract is till the 2027 World Cup. The BCCI will speak to selectors and team management going ahead but there won’t be any knee jerk action,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying to The Indian Express.
After the loss, Gautam Gambhir clarified that it was up to the BCCI to decide his future.
“It is up to the BCCI to decide. I’ve said it in my first press conference when I took over as the head coach. Indian cricket is important, I’m not important. And I sit here and say exactly the same thing,” Gautam Gambhir was quoted as saying at the post-match press conference.
“And yes, people can keep forgetting about it. I’m the same guy who got results in England as well, with a young team. And I’m sure you guys will forget very soon, because a lot of people keep talking about New Zealand (home series whitewash last year). And I’m the same guy who won the Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup as well,” Gautam Gambhir added.
Critics were up in arms as India stared at another home series whitewash, having already lost 0-3 to New Zealand last year. After going down in the series opener on a difficult pitch in Kolkata, India were outclassed in the first innings in Guwahati as South Africa amassed 489 after opting to bat and then bowled India out for 201.
Gautam Gambhir famously proclaimed that he would not drop players and that any changes would be about picking the right team to win. Yet consider this statistic: since Gautam Gambhir took charge, India have used 24 players in Tests in just one year. By contrast, during Virat Kohli’s seven-year tenure as captain, only 41 players were used in total.
In the first Test, India played Washington Sundar at No. 3, only to push him down to No. 8 in the first innings of the Guwahati Test. Sai Sudharsan, who was dropped for the series opener despite scoring 87 in his previous Test, returned at No. 3.
India struggled with the bat in good batting conditions, managing only 201 runs. Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Washington Sundar (48), none of the other batters went past the 25-run mark. Dhruv Jurel, batting at No. 4, was dismissed for 0, while captain Rishabh Pant threw his wicket away for 7.
Former India captain and ex-chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth tore into Gautam Gambhir over what he termed inconsistency in India’s Test selection, saying he is not prepared to listen to justifications from the team management. Srikkanth was speaking on his YouTube show after India conceded a 288-run lead in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa.
This is the worst performance in Indian cricket- Kris Srikkanth on Gautam Gambhir
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth blasted Head Coach Gautam Gambhir after the hosts suffered a humiliating 0-2 whitewash against South Africa at home. India lost the second Test by 408 runs in Guwahati.
Kris Srikkanth held the management responsible for the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in Test cricket, which made the team unstable. He called out Gautam Gambhir for the comments he had made in the past, and also while he was not the coach. While Gautam Gambhir had stated that the team did not miss any players when the likes of Kohli and Rohit retired, he said after the defeat against South Africa that the team was inexperienced.
“Kohli retired two days before the tour. Obviously, he and Rohit were told to retire and that Gill will be made captain. I had suggested also to make Virat captain, let him bring the stability back, then you move on. After that comments came like we don’t miss players, I don’t believe in heroism and all that. The whole world knows what all things he has spoken when he was a commentator,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.
Post the defeat, Gautam Gambhir stated that this was what transition looked like and that the players were in a learning process. However, Srikkanth asked the Head Coach not to defend the mistakes and accept that they played poor cricket. He reflected on Gambhir’s comments after the first Test as well and slammed his selection policy.
“You cannot defend. Just accept it that we have played bad cricket. One match you say there is no demons on the wicket and want more application. In that match Axar played well and you dropped him from the XI. He himself said Axar scored well so one day he says one thing and next day something else. This is the worst performance in Indian cricket,” he stated.
India suffered their second whitewash at home in two consecutive years under Gautam Gambhir.Following the series defeat against South Africa, Gautam Gambhir is under fire and tremendous pressure. India have now lost five out of their seven home Tests under Gambhir. However, the Head Coach defended his position by saying that he was the one under whom India drew the series in England, won the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup.
Kris Srikkanth asked Gambhir to acknowledge the losses, the evident problems, and accept criticism.
“He is saying he drew in England and all that. But he is not saying I am the same guy who lost against Sri Lanka, against New Zealand, I am the same guy who got whitewashed by South Africa. I am the same guy who got defeated in Australia. Accept the fact. When you do well, we will give credit. But when you don’t, accept the fact. There are tactical problems,” he said.
The former cricketer reckoned that it was okay to lose matches or series at home, but called for acceptance and not giving excuses. He also lashed out at the selection and fast-tracking of players into the Test side based on IPL performance.
“You can lose matches, lose series, lose to South Africa at home. That is all fine. But don’t give excuses. Find out what the solution is and what the reasons are. Everybody is scared in this team. Fastrack IPL players into T20 cricket. You cannot do that in Test cricket. The players themselves don’t know what to do. We are lacking. Everybody got out defending because they did not know what to do,” he added.
Srikkanth also urged Gautam Gambhir to accept the errors within the system and analyse what was going wrong, and look to rebuild rather than finding excuses after poor performances.
The Indian batters struggled throughout the series with totals of 189, 93, 201, and 140 in four innings. There’s a long gap now with India not playing any Test cricket until late next year. Who knows what changes lie ahead in the intervening period. This moment, though, is all about South Africa and the remarkable win they’ve pulled off. Plenty for them to celebrate before the ODIs get under way.
Also Read: IND VS SA: Ravindra Jadeja’s 4-Wicket Haul Sinks South Africa In The Evening Session.