The Indian Test team is closing in on another humiliating home defeat under Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, who has faced severe criticism for his Leadership thus far during the ongoing Test series versus South Africa.
As of November 24, 2019, India has fallen behind by 314 runs after South Africa bowled out India early for just 60 runs in their 2nd innings, with only one innings remaining left in this Test match, Guwahati Test 2; as the Test series is almost assuredly destined to yield a series-wide horror show of being utterly defeated 3-0.
The rising criticism from both fans and experts has raised some serious questions about whether Gautam Gambhir’s coaching will be disastrous or simply a transitional failure.
Gambhir’s Term As Test Head Coach Has Not Started Well
The first time Gambhir captained India’s Test team was in October 2024; however, results were not good right from the beginning as he took over as Test captain of India. India lost its first-ever 0-3 test series on home soil, establishing an undesirable precedent for his red ball captaincy.
Just a few months later was the major setback of losing 3-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, with the result being that India fell out of contention for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Although a brief turnaround came six months later in a 2-2 series draw, India, under Gambhir, still could not achieve even a single series victory against the big three Australia, New Zealand, and England.
Now, with the series against South Africa slipping away, India are staring at a possible 2-0 whitewash at home, adding further pressure on an under-fire coach.
Gautam Gambhir’s Test Coaching Record
Win-Loss Breakdown
Since taking over, Gautam Gambhir has led the team through 18 Test matches, the results being:
Wins: 7
Draws: 2
Losses: 9 (probably 10 after the Guwahati Test)
While the win against West Indies offered some hope, it does little to overshadow the growing list of failures in marquee series.
A Failed Transition Era?
The transition approach was the most contentious and talked about issue in relation to Gambhir’s reign. It phased out high-profile, senior players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin without any farewell matches, a decision which received a mixed bag of reaction.
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Gambhir’s desire to rebuild the National team around a younger player base (including Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair) backfired. Most of them were brought into the National team at a much faster pace than most people were used to witnessing, which resulted in poor results and had a knock-on effect in the form of constant changes in the national squad and a rapid exit from the tournament.
Overlooked Bowlers and Missed Opportunities
The missed opportunity to allow Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh time to relearn their confidence has created even more questions regarding Gambhir’s selection approach.
What’s Next for Gautam Gambhir?
As pressure mounts and discussions about his possible removal intensify, Gautam Gambhir is in the most challenging phase of his coaching career. At this point, hardly a few voices from outside are openly advocating for him continuing as head coach of the Test side.
Whether this is merely a phase or a sign of deeper issues within his coaching philosophy is yet to be seen. What does stand clear, though, is the fact that the future of India’s Test cricket now hangs in the balance-and Gambhir’s role in shaping this is under the sharpest spotlight.
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