Under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir, India have won only seven out of 19 Tests.
Former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced his support for India head coach Gautam Gambhir following the IND vs SA Test series loss. He believes sacking the coach when players have not been able to absorb pressure and perform to their potential is not right.
In 12 months of a home whitewash at the hands of New Zealand, India were once again outplayed by reigning world champions South Africa. While the Shubman Gill-led side lost by a narrow 30-run margin in a low-scoring first Test in Kolkata, they went down by a record 408 runs in the second Test in Guwahati. It also marked India’s fifth Test defeat in the last seven matches on home soil.
During his YouTube show Ash ki Baat, Ashwin asserted that the India coach, who has a contract till 2027, does not deserve to be sacked, but the fans and experts should ask questions to the players too.
“We want to ask for responsibility. It’s easy because in Indian cricket, there’s a lot to gain and a lot of money involved. But a coach cannot pick up the bat and go out to play. What can a coach do? Put yourself in the coach’s position. You may say a player needs continuity and that there has been a lot of rotation, fine, agreed. But the skill to play and perform is the player’s responsibility,” Ashwin expressed.
A lack of continuity at a crucial No.3 position since Cheteshwar Pujara’s exit has been another reason. In the 19 tests played since July 2024, India have experimented with seven players at No.3, including Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, and KL Rahul, highlighting a growing concern.
Gambhir has been largely facing criticism for preferring all-rounders over specialist batters, a strategy that has paid dividends in white-ball cricket, but backfired in red-ball matches so far. In both Tests, India played with three all-rounders, slotting in Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar in the mix despite batting failure in the first Test.
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Ashwin also urged the players to take responsibility after a disastrous show in the IND vs SA Test series.
“I haven’t seen enough responsibility taken by enough players to say the coach is the problem…I didn’t see enough from the players’ side to blame decision-making alone. Sure, decision-making can always be better, no doubt,” he said.
The two-match series exposed the vulnerabilities of the Indian batters, especially on spin-favouring pitches, who failed to apply themselves at the crease. Their struggles were visibly evident against South Africa’s bowling unit, featuring tall pacer Marco Jansen (12 wickets) and two specialist spinners, Keshav Maharaj (six wickets) and Simon Harmer (17 wickets).
The stats tell the story. The Porteas batters displayed great temperament and grit, spending time on the pitch as six players scored 100+ runs in the series. Notably, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, and Temba Bavuma also scored fifties, while Senuran Muthuswamy emerged as the only centurion across two Tests. On the other hand, only two Indians – Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – scored 100+ runs in the series. The two half-centuries for the hosts came from the bat of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jadeja.
Overall, South Africa amassed 1,061 runs across two Tests. However, India managed only 623 runs across all innings and were bowled out in every one of them, underlining their continued struggles with the willow.
India will continue to host South Africa for three ODIs, starting from November 30. While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be joining the team, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Hardik Pandya are expected to miss out. KL Rahul will don the captaincy hat. Next up, the two teams will compete in five T20Is to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.
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