Team India’s Test struggles deepen after losing 10 of 17 matches — are structural red-ball flaws being overlooked?
Since the beginning of October 2024, Team India has won five Tests in 17 games, achieving a win-loss ratio of 0.50. In this process, they have lost 10 red-ball encounters and experienced only two draws. As a team, they have a mediocre Test batting average of 31.15 at a run-rate of 3.46. Meanwhile, during this same period, they bagged 292 wickets at an average of 31.17 in 33 innings.
Subsequently, India have won 11 out of 14 ODIs at a win-loss ratio of 3.66 since October 2024. On the other hand, they earned 21 T20I victories in 28 clashes at a win-loss ratio of 5.25 in that same period. This has raised questions over their red-ball issues in recent times. Out of their five wins of the last 17 Tests, two came against the eighth-ranked West Indies.
India won’t have any red-ball fixture till August against Sri Lanka in the form of the two-match away Test series. But before that, they need to settle their plans to avoid rock bottom.
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India batters need improvement against spinners
India’s two-match home Test series defeat against South Africa has underlined their well-documented weakness against spinners. Their former opener, Navjot Singh Sidhu, pinned the blue brigade’s crisis on a loss of craft rather than power. He insisted that ‘skill, not strength, is key to counter spin.’
Sidhu, in an interview with Sportstar, claimed that India’s batters struggled with their foot movement against the spinners. He wasn’t the only one blaming the batters’ technique against the spinners, as Cheteshwar Pujara also opined the same. India’s former number three Test batter emphasised the importance of using the feet against the spinners.
“The batting coach will also have to speak to the batters. They need to use their feet, play the sweep shot, and play a little more positively on such pitches. You need to put the bowler under pressure, and that is something the Indian batters failed to do in this particular Test match.” Pujara expressed on JioStar’s show Cricket Live post India’s 30-run defeat at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, against the Proteas.
Since October 2024, Ravindra Jadeja has remained India’s leading Test run-getter against spinners with 521 runs at 65.12. Everyone, apart from the Southpaw, has experienced an average of below 50.
India’s batting performance vs spinners since October 2024
| Players | Inns | Runs | Outs | Avg | SR | 50s/100s |
| R Jadeja | 23 | 521 | 08 | 65.12 | 55.66 | 04/00 |
| R Pant | 21 | 510 | 12 | 42.50 | 85.57 | 05/00 |
| S Gill | 17 | 491 | 10 | 49.10 | 55.61 | 03/01 |
| Y Jaiswal | 16 | 377 | 08 | 47.12 | 70.60 | 02/00 |
| W Sundar | 20 | 337 | 09 | 37.44 | 49.34 | 00/00 |
Once it comes to facing spin at home, the numbers are terrible for India’s batters. Yashasvi Jaiswal is the best performer with 272 Test runs in nine innings at 38.86 since October 2024. Only Rishabh Pant averages more than 40 in this aspect.
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India’s batting performance vs spinners since October 2024 at home
| Players | Inns | Runs | Outs | Avg | SR | 50s/100s |
| Y Jaiswal | 09 | 272 | 07 | 38.86 | 80.95 | 02/00 |
| R Jadeja | 09 | 266 | 07 | 38.00 | 57.83 | 02/00 |
| R Pant | 09 | 246 | 06 | 41.00 | 100.00 | 03/00 |
| S Gill | 08 | 233 | 06 | 38.83 | 53.20 | 02/00 |
| W Sundar | 09 | 184 | 06 | 30.67 | 55.42 | 00/00 |
Heading into Sri Lanka, this will be a massive challenge for the India batters. And it will remain the same against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in early 2027.
India need proper all-rounders in Tests
The lack of a proper Test all-rounder has been a headache for India since Gautam Gambhir became their head coach. They tried to prepare Nitish Reddy as the pace bowling all-rounder, but injury has been his constant nemesis. Moreover, captain Shubman Gill doesn’t trust Reddy’s bowling skills much, with the all-rounder bowling only 86 overs in 15 Test innings since October 2024.
Meanwhile, Washington Sundar has bowled only 277 overs in 22 Test innings in this period for just 30 wickets. The management has, however, used him at number three in the batting department. Given their combination of three or even four spinners, occasionally, one of them gets under-bowled. That’s the same case with Axar Patel.
Apart from Jadeja’s 965 runs and 45 wickets in the last 15 Test innings, India didn’t get a proper contribution from their all-rounders. This is where they need to work on. In the past, they had two proper all-rounders of Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the team, who used to bail them out of trouble many a time.
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India aim for more experienced FC bowlers for Test matches
Just like batters, bowlers also need first-class experience under their belt, heading into a Test match. Since his first-class debut in 2012, Axar Patel has played only 57 FC games, out of which 15 were Test matches. On the other hand, Sundar has been part of only 29 FC games apart from his 17 Tests.
Bowlers need to go through long spells in domestic cricket to get their red-ball rhythm. For spinners, it’s about continuous bowling at the same line and length. It’s also about deceiving the batters in the air, something which India’s white-ball specialist spinners are missing.
In the pace bowling department, India don’t have an inspiring option after Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj has been good, but they don’t have many options apart from these two to win in SENA countries. Their next challenge in this aspect will be the two-match Test series in New Zealand later in 2026.
The BCCI selectors have already taken some serious calls for their T20 World Cup 2026 squad, including the decision to drop their vice-captain, Shubman Gill. They may need to take some of those in the longest format to move forward smoothly. Their next Test series will be in Sri Lanka in August this year.
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