Gautam Gambhir’s red-ball record as head coach reads 3W, 1D, 7L: Should India move on from him?

Should BCCI sack Gautam Gambhir as Test coach? India lost 7 Tests, won only 3 under his red-ball leadership.

After India’s aggressive victory in Kanpur against Bangladesh, head coach, Gautam Gambhir, expressed their aim to ‘be the team who can score 400 runs in a day and bat for two days to save a Test match.’ However, the plan hasn’t worked out since then. 

At one point during the Boxing Day Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, India were chasing victory. Later, the aim converted towards a drawn result. But they ended up losing the fixture by 184 runs, thanks to getting bundled out in less than 80 overs. In the recent Headingley Test, England chased down 373/5 on the fifth day with five wickets in hand. 

India’s unsuccessful Test journey under Gautam Gambhir 
Since Gambhir’s comment after the Kanpur win, the Blue Brigade faced one victory and seven defeats in nine fixtures. This includes a home red-ball series defeat after 12 years. It was also the Blackcaps’ maiden Test series victory in India. The 3-0 series defeat wasn’t only a bilateral series setback but a hammering effort on the WTC 2023-25 final qualification. 

Due to the side’s previous successful trips down under, fans expected India to turn the table. Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah’s breathtaking bowling, with match figures of 8/72, gave them a brilliant platform of the 295-run win in Perth. But rather than going up, the team fell down terribly in the last four encounters of the series. 

The only draw in Gambhir’s tenure came at the Gabba. And that wasn’t because of India’s feisty character in the field. The consistent rain in Brisbane made the road easy for the visitors. 

After putting 487/6 in the second innings of the opening Test, the batters kept failing to put huge scores on the board. They were unsuccessful in crossing the 300-run mark in seven of the next eight innings. When they scored 369 runs in Melbourne, the lower order contributed immensely. 

In the last nine five-day games, the two-time WTC runners-up earned just one victory. The last week at Leeds was an example of how the side’s development in taking 20 wickets in a Test match has vaporised. After all, it was the first instance of a team’s red-ball defeat after scoring five centuries. 

Read More: Catches win matches: India need to be reminded of this axiom

Gautam Gambhir’s poor red-ball tactics 
Gambhir got the job after a successful run with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024, helping them earn their third title. The southpaw also led India to the Champions Trophy 2025 win, as head coach, earlier this year. That has strengthened his white-ball CV. However, his journey as the red-ball coach has been disheartening. 

As a coach, he has a huge role during the transition phase of the side. When both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from the longest format, it was Gambhir’s job to take care of the transition. It was the former India opener’s role to understand whether the team was in the stage of going through the transition. 

Undoubtedly, retirement comes as an individual’s decision. But it was hard to digest how both veterans retired in a gap of five days before a huge England trip. Moreover, they showed interest in the series in the past.  

Gambhir carried young Harshit Rana for the BGT 2024-25 but the Delhi pacer didn’t have a great outing. On the other hand, Ravi Shastri, the former head coach, won the Gabba Test in BGT 2020/21 with an inexperienced unit. 

There is another discussion on the veteran pacer Mohammed Shami. India didn’t carry him to Australia and also ignored his services during the squad announcement of the ongoing England tour. Shastri, during a previous ICC review, claimed that he would have kept the Bengal pacer in the mix and monitored his progress day by day. 

India’s seamers, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur, were not up to the mark with their line and length at Leeds. That released the pressure Bumrah built from one end. Meanwhile, the selection of the current side is on Gambhir’s shoulders. He is currently the senior coach of the junior captain, while a few months ago, he was the junior coach of a senior captain.

Read More: ENG vs IND, Tests, 2025: ‘Do or die’ assignment for Gautam Gambhir in red-ball format

Acid test for Gautam Gambhir’s red-ball coaching 
India’s selection of Thakur ahead of Nitish Reddy made zero sense. The former just bowled six overs in the first innings and added one run with the bat. If the aim was to look for someone who could provide runs and bowl a handful of overs, then Reddy was always the better option. 

When asked about this in the post-match press conference, the 43-year-old dismissed the question with the impression that nothing wrong was taking place. He put young Shubman Gill under the bus saying ‘the captain goes with his instincts.’ 

Backing the players is important for a coach but that should happen only to a certain level. The lower order’s casual batting cost the visitors a potential victory in the opening Test. The team is just going by the motions and coach needs to be a little in the eyes of the players occasionally. 

This England series is the acid test for Gambhir. Unless he earns success, it would be high time for the BCCI to look for different options in the red-ball set-up. They could go to VVS Laxman, who has both the skill and experience or hand it back to Shastri. But a hard decision needs to be made. 

Read More: Home whitewash at the hands of NZ, first BGT loss in 10 years: Time up for Gautam Gambhir in Tests?