Factors that have caused decline in India’s batting in home Tests

A look at the major reasons behind Team India’s batting decline in home Tests — technical issues, mindset problems, and inconsistent performances.

Team India are on the verge of losing another home Test series under head coach Gautam Gambhir. India, who are already trailing 0-1 in the two match Test series against South Africa, are on the backfoot in the Guwahati Test, with the visitors leading by 314 runs at stumps on third day. Even if India draw this Test, they will lose the series 0-1. Last year, India suffered an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand. What has led to the sudden decline of India’s batting in home Tests?

T20 cricket mindset
It cannot be denied that T20 cricket is more popular than Test cricket, although it is the five-day format that tests the true character of a cricketer. Besides, the money earned from T20 cricket has propelled many players to give this format precedence over the longer version of the game. Hence, West Indies cricket has seen a great decline in Test cricket as their players retire at an early age from international cricket to play domestic T20 tournaments across the cricketing world. A similar mindset has crept into Indian cricket where youngsters have been lured by the lucrative IPL contracts that make them millionaires overnight.

Even proper text-book cricketers such as Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and KL Rahul who have good techniques to survive and prosper in Test cricket have to forgo their natural game of playing tackling the ball on merit to play aggressively to suit the demands of T20 cricket. This change of technique, style, and skills to suit T20 cricket affects their game in Test cricket as they become guilty of playing away from the body, across the line of the ball, and hit out of trouble rather than persist to tide away the difficult phases of a Test match. Hence, we have seen dismissals of Indian batters trying to hit out of trouble rather than grinding out the bowling attack.

An example came during the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand last year, when India were skittled for 46 on the opening day. On a surface offering significant seam movement, the Indian batters seemed intent on forcing the pace instead of riding out the difficult spell – failing to absorb pressure, wear down the bowlers, and wait for conditions to ease before cashing in.

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Preference for all-rounders over specialists
Test cricket needs specialists in both bowling and batting to counter the challenges of playing a five-day format. However, choosing all-rounders over specialists for specific positions can backfire as it has happened with India in home Test series. India dropped a specialist batter Sai Sudharsan, even after he scored a fifty in his last Test, to accommodate an extra spinner, and handed all-rounder Washington Sundar to play at No. 3 spot in the Eden Gardens Test. However, it was not a long-term solution. For the Guwahati Test, India went back with Sudharsan at No 3 but the drop in the previous Test didn’t boost his confidence leading to him failing in the first innings.

Including all-rounders in T20 cricket or even ODIs can work, but not in Test cricket as every position calls for a specialist as the demand of this format is huge on the mental and physical capacity of a player, and to perform in two different skills is a huge challenge. Therefore, India’s reliance on their Test XI with three to four all-rounders in home Tests were bound to fail.

Faulty technique
Playing different formats at a very short turnaround time could lead to faulty technique to play the game’s longest format. Earlier, India had Test specialists such as Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane who played only Test cricket as their game suited this format while they were ignored for other formats. They trained specifically to mould their game around the demands of Test cricket. But with most Indian batters now juggling two or three formats and getting very little turnaround time to recalibrate for the red-ball game, the technical adjustments required for the five-day format inevitably take a hit.

While T20s and ODIs demand playing across the line, batting aggressively and scoring quickly, Test calls for patience, survival, and playing on merit and according to the situation of the game. T20s or ODIs cannot replicate the demands of Test cricket. Changing the game to suit format is not easy. If India play a few practice games on home conditions before the home Test series, it would help them overcome the challenge of winning at home.

The packed international calendar offers no such luxury. As a result, India’s Test captain Shubman Gill shifted from T20Is to a Test match within the span of a week – and the abrupt transition showed, as he picked up an injury after facing just three balls in the opening Test.

Besides, the lack of practice of playing domestic games against their own quality spinners does not help India batters to improve their technique against spin bowling. Hence, when an opposition team comes to India with a good spin attack, India batters fail to perform against them on familiar turning tracks. Hence, we saw the likes of spinners Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner bowling New Zealand to 0-3 whitewash against India in India. 

Read More: Reasons why India batters find themselves vulnerable against spin in the current era

Vulnerability against spin
It’s no surprise that India batters’ grip over spin has loosened over the past year since the New Zealand series whitewash. Here’s how India batters, from No 1 to No 6, have fared against opposition spin attack at home since October 2024 till now, compared to a year ago.

India batters’ average against spinners at home slipped to 34.45 since October 1, 2024 till date, compared to 45.71 in the year ago period. The strike rate too slipped to 63.27 from 66.75.

However, the decline has not been sudden. It has been gradual and got amplified only after India’s 0-3 series whitewash against New Zealand. A comparison of India’s batters against spinners at home in Tests over a five-year period show a drop of batting average to almost half.

The stats above show India batters’ average against opposition spinners at home Tests had dropped to 36.32 for the time period of November 2020 to November 2025 compared to 63.21 for the time period of November 2015 to November 2020.

Lack of Test match temperament
Does India lack the temperament to play Test cricket? In other words, do India batters lack the skills, patience, and persistence to stay put at the wicket and build an innings? The recent home series shows India’s growing decline in temperament in playing Test cricket. There are very few batters who could bat long in Test cricket, and put a heavy price on their wicket. Not so long ago, India’s No 3 Cheteshwar Pujara did the job for the team, batting long and deep, and dropping the anchor while others batted around him.

During his playing career spanning 103 Tests spanning 13 years, Pujara was out every 98.3 balls, putting him in the fifth position of batters taking most deliveries to be dismissed during this period. But there is no such India batter who has the temperament of Pujara’s to bat long and frustrate the opposition bowling attack. Hence, when Kuldeep Yadav took 134 balls to score 19 runs in the ongoing Guwahati Test, he set an example on how to bat long and put a heavy price tag on the wicket. Apart from Kuldeep, no other India batter played over 100 balls in this innings.

Read More: Kolkata Test loss shows India didn’t learn anything from home series loss against NZ in 2024

Inability to absorb pressure
Test cricket is all about absorbing pressure, bouncing back from losing situations, and turning the momentum in your favour by playing some disciplined and resolute cricket. There have been many instances in Test cricket when a team has played catch up throughout the first few days before turning the match around in just one session or one day’s play.

For example, the 2001 Eden Gardens Test between India and Australia, India were asked to follow on, and looked in danger of losing the Test by an innings. But Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman absorbed all the pressure on the fourth day, and batted the whole day together unbeaten. Their stand inspired India to stage a fightback and force a win on the fifth day.

Unfortunately, India are lacking virtues of battling it out in the middle in Test cricket, or even saving a Test at home. They have been bowled out chasing a target below 150 two times in four home losses in the last one year. India have virtually thrown in the towel much before the match has been lost. It’s a far cry from the days when India turned roadblocks into stepping stones for success in the home Test series.

The way forward
India have to shake up their strategy of playing Test cricket at home if they want to stave off further embarrassing losses. India must get their basics of playing Test cricket right. It includes playing specialists in place of all-rounders, grinding out a bowling attack, playing out time when needed, and creating winning positions from hopeless situations.

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