A steep batting slump against spin and risky pitch tactics under Gautam Gambhir have exposed vulnerabilities, culminating in crushing defeats like the 2024 New Zealand series. Yet, the coach Gautam Gambhir refuses to learn from mistakes.
India’s abject display on a below-par pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata during a 30-run defeat to South Africa on Sunday has raised severe criticsm over head coach Gautam Gambhir and his tactics to leave the skills of his batters and bowlers to chance.Defending India’s decision and request to play on such an improbable surface, Gautam Gambhir had lamented the poor batting of his side as the solitary reason behind the defeat.
Gautam Gambhir’s pitch policy amplifies India’s weakness in Test cricket on spin wickets
The most dangerous word in competitive sports isn’t defeat; it’s the fear of it. Indian cricket coach Gautam Gambhir’s insistence on playing on crumbling pitches is a glaring advertisement of India’s strategic diffidence.
After India’s ritualistic collapse in the final innings of the first Test against South Africa, Gautam Gambhir doubled down on his philosophy of preferring volatile, rank turners that start misbehaving from day one. We wanted the exact same pitch, he argued. His rationale: these snake-pit type pitches take the toss out of the equation.
Gautam Gambhir’s aggro posits the philosophy as strategic genius. But bereft of the words, it is a profound act of strategic surrender. The flaw is twofold.
First, there is the tactical paradox: Gautam Gambhir claims these extreme pitches take the toss out of the equation. Yet, the reality is that they make the toss the single most decisive factor. By engineering a wicket that guarantees chaos by Day 4, he is voluntarily maximising the difficulty of the fourth-innings chase. When his team loses the flip, they are condemned to bat last on a surface designed to be lethal—a self-inflicted wound.
And this is what has happened in the recent past–India lose the toss, find the going tough in the fourth innings, and crumble. Despite overwhelming evidence against Gautam Gambhir’s “take the toss out of the equation,” the coach refuses to change it.
Gautam Gambhir’s policy instills fears in the mindset of players
Second, and more critically, lies the psychological surrender. This approach is built on an implicit defeatist mindset: “No, we can’t chase in the fourth innings.”
The traditional Indian cricket mindset was based on a simple premise: Bat as long as possible in your first innings, and then bundle the opponent out quickly. This philosophy made Indian batters and bowlers masters of their destiny–not the pitch. For decades, the strategy served Indian cricket, leading to the home team’s dominance at home.
Gautam Gambhir’s tactics have turned this logic on its head: by making the pitch the decisive factor, he has taken batting out of the equation. The underlying message: Our batters can’t.
This philosophy stands in stark, crippling contrast to the modern, fearless mentality defined by Bazball—the ‘Yes, We Can’ approach of teams like England, who treat every target, no matter how daunting, as an opportunity to attack, neutralise the pitch with run rate, and break the opponent’s spirit. Gautam Gambhir’s philosophy is a strategy of fear, and fear, unlike skill, never wins a Test match. Gautam Gambhir’s strategy is even more confounding because of Indian batting’s visible decline against spin, especially in the past five years.
Between 2013 and 2020, India was nearly unbeatable at home, winning 28 out of 34 Tests, losing just once. This invincible team has now lost 4 out of the last six Test matches at home, the consolation wins coming against a depleted, diminished West Indies. The decimation has come at the hands of relatively benign spin bowlers like Ajaz Patel.
The Indian dominance during this period was largely because of Indian batters–they averaged 44.05 runs per wicket against all bowling. By October 2024, this average had dropped to less than 34.00 at home–the steepest decline among all major Test teams. Later that year, when New Zealand visited India, only two batters averaged more than 40–Washington Sundar (because he remained not out twice), and Rishabh Pant.Their chief destroyers were Mitchell Santner– 13 wickets with an average around 12.00– and Patel, who took 15 for 23.80.
The diagnosis is clear: Indian batters can’t play spin the way they used to. The days of Sachin Tendulkar giving nightmares to Shane Warne are history.
The problem is backed by stats. Almost every Indian batter struggled against spin after 2021. According to an ESPN analysis, the home average of top-seven batsmen plunged from 54.43 (2016–2020) to 38.30 since 2021. While pace bowling averages stayed steady, the average against spinners plunged over 40%, from 63.36 to 37.56. And still Gautam Gambhir’s adamancy to continue using Rank turners seems a mindless decision and Former SA fast bowler Shaun Pollock has slammed Gautam Gambhir for the same.
Shaun Pollock has a criticizing angle on Gautam Gambhir’s view regarding the Kolkata pitch in 1st Test
South African legend Shaun Pollock offered a blunt take on Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s views on the Kolkata pitch after the first Test against South Africa. The hosts lost by 30 runs, and the game wrapped up in just two and a half days.It appeared to be a difficult wicket to bat on as batters from both sides struggled. During the post-match press conference after the game, Gautam Gambhir made a bold statement, reflecting that there were no demons on the surface and that it was not an unplayable wicket.
However, Shaun Pollock disagreed with his statement. He reckoned that it was a difficult wicket and there were a few demons, if not many. While he expressed that he understood Gautam Gambhir’s thought of wanting the batters to do well even in tough conditions, he stated that these were not the kind of wickets teams would wish for.
“The only issue I’ve got is actually about no demons. I don’t agree with that one. It was very difficult at times. There were certain deliveries that were unplayable. There were a few demons. I think if he looked back he would take away that there weren’t that many demons.
His point is probably going more down the lines that the batters need to show more application and ability to bat on different surfaces. I would say there were demons and it was very difficult and it is not kind of what you want. But I do get his point. Even though it was difficult, they should have shown more application,” he said on Cricbuzz.
Chasing 124, India were bundled out for just 93 in the final innings. They missed skipper Shubman Gill, who retired hurt in the first innings and did not bat in the second. Heading into the second Test, Pollock reckoned that there would not be many changes in the Indian team. He reflected that they could look to drop Axar Patel and play an extra batter as the only possible change.
“Bowlers, no issue. They have done their job. It comes down to the batters. If you go down to the route of saying Shubman Gill did not contribute, if he scores, then no issues. So I don’t know if there will be massive changes. The only thing could be if you want to go one bowling option short and play the extra batter. Besides it I don’t see any changes. Maybe you say we don’t need to extra spin of Axar and get more batting in. That could be the only change.”
In sum, India is facing a crucial moment where the historic juggernaut at home is under threat from stronger opposition spin, declining form of key batsmen, and crumbling pitches. The erosion of home advantage and vulnerability against spin jeopardise India’s long-standing dominance in Tests at home.
Yet, Gautam Gambhir wants more such rank turners. His pitch strategy, defended by some as audacious, risks becoming a self-inflicted injury in India’s Test cricket story. And a symbol of bravado masquerading as doubt and surrender.The second Test will begin on Saturday, November 22, in Guwahati. India will aim to bounce back after a stunning defeat.
Also Read: IND VS SA: Ravindra Jadeja’s 4-Wicket Haul Sinks South Africa In The Evening Session.