Has Gautam Gambhir become another Greg Chappell ? India’s humiliating 2-0 defeat to South Africa has raised this question. Just as then-head coach Greg Chappell led the Indian team to a crushing defeat in 2007, the stubborn policies of today’s head coach Gautam Gambhir remind us of those days.
Whoever he may be, here we are revealing all the reasons behind India’s humiliating defeat in the series.
Before we discuss this, we feel it’s important to mention a specific incident that occurred after the end of the second Test match.
After losing the Test series against South Africa, head coach Gautam Gambhir is under everyone’s scrutiny. Something happened to him on the Guwahati ground that he probably couldn’t have imagined. In fact, when Gautam Gambhir came onto the field after the defeat in Guwahati, there was massive chanting against him. Chants of “Gautam Gambhir” erupted in the Guwahati stadium. Gambhir would never have imagined that his own people would do this to him in his own country.
Why is Gautam Gambhir under attack?
Under Gautam Gambhir’s coaching, the Indian team won the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup, but despite this, he is under attack because Team India’s performance in Test cricket has been very poor. Under Gautam Gambhir’s coaching, the Indian team has been clean swept twice at home. First, New Zealand defeated India 3-0, and now South Africa has won the Test series 2-0. During Gambhir’s tenure, Team India has only lost Test series to weak teams like Bangladesh and the West Indies. India lost the Test series in Australia and the Test series in England ended in a draw.
The crushing 408-run defeat in the Guwahati Test has raised many questions. India’s next Test match is scheduled for August 2026. Before that, the coach and management must address these three major shortcomings, otherwise the situation could worsen.
1. Is it a batting order or a game of musical chairs ?
The No. 3 conundrum: The No. 3 spot has been vacant since Cheteshwar Pujara’s departure. Sometimes Gill plays, sometimes someone else is sent in.
The multitude of players: It’s hard to believe, but 24 players have been tried in the last 14 months, yet a solid playing XI hasn’t been finalized.
Confusion: Washington Sundar was given a chance in this series, then Sai Sudarshan came in the next match. The middle order is severely lacking in experience. Rahane didn’t get a chance, and Karun Nair flopped in England. The team doesn’t know whom to trust.
2. Blind reliance on Nitish Reddy, ignoring experience
The second major mistake appears to be in team selection. A player like Axar Patel, who can perform brilliantly with both bat and ball on Indian pitches and is also experienced, was left out. Nitish Reddy is being given consistent opportunities in his place. The statistics are surprising. Apart from a century at the MCG, Nitish Reddy has averaged just 10 runs in his last 10 innings. In the Guwahati Test, he bowled only 10 overs and took no wickets. When a player is not performing, giving him repeated chances while ignoring experienced players is beyond comprehension. This decision by the management has backfired.
3. Coach Gambhir ‘failed’ to read the pitch
In Test cricket, half the battle is won by understanding the pitch before the match begins. During Rahul Dravid’s time, Team India used to formulate very precise strategies based on the pitch. But this has become Gambhir’s biggest weakness during his tenure. In the Guwahati Test, it seemed as if the South African batsmen were playing on an easy pitch, while our batsmen were in a minefield. Indian batsmen are now unable to play spin on their own home pitches, while foreign players are scoring centuries here. Until a decade ago, foreign teams used to succumb to spin here, but now the opposite is happening. Gambhir is making serious mistakes in his pitch reading, and that is why we are losing at home. Now there is a 6-7 month break. If these mistakes are not corrected, both the Sri Lanka tour and the dream of winning the World Test Championship could be in jeopardy.
