Gautam Gambhir is facing one of the toughest phases of his stint as India’s head coach as the Test team slips deeper into trouble, and the criticism has now grown louder with the legendary spinner Anil Kumble raising serious concerns about the direction of the batting unit.
India’s Test side has been struggling for stability ever since Gautam Gambhir took charge in mid-2024. While the former Indian opener’s aggressive approach has brought big results in white-ball cricket, they continued to struggle in Tests and are now on the verge of losing their second home series.
Anil Kumble questions Gautam Gambhir’s batting strategy post Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma era
South Africa already won the first Test in Kolkata, and now they are in a strong position to win the final Test in Guwahati to whitewash India, who were clean-swept by New Zealand 3-0 last year. Amidst India’s flop show, the former Indian head coach blamed the batting for the downfall.
Kumble has pointed out that India’s biggest problem is their unstable batting order, saying the Test team has not looked settled ever since a group of modern-day greats retired. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Tests in May, Cheteshwar Pujara followed in August, while Ajinkya Rahane has not been selected since July 2023, and now Shubman Gill is out with a neck injury.
Anil Kumble said on JioHotstar, “The other aspect also, you know, I want to bring up this point about India’s batting. Over the last three or four years, you’ve seen four batters in the top five either retire or not be picked. You know, if it is, you know, Virat Kohli is retired, and so are Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara, and then you have, of course… Rahane. So, four out of five, plus Shubman Gill is not in this lineup. Yes, India did miss Shubman, the captain, but also, more importantly, missed him as a batter.”
Anil Kumble demands answers from Gautam Gambhir over India’s Test mess
With so many senior players gone at once, India’s batting line-up has been shuffled repeatedly, and constant experimentation led to confusion that is clear in the team’s performance. After becoming India’s Test captain, Gill moved to the No. 4 position, and India has yet to find a solution at No. 3, thanks to Gautam Gambhir’s confusing strategy.
India tried Karun Nair, then Sai Sudharsan, and even gave Washington Sundar a chance in the first test against South Africa. But no one has been able to settle in. In Guwahati, Sundar was pushed down to No. 8 again, and he played a brave knock of 48.
Sundar’s partnership with Kuldeep Yadav briefly held India together, but the rest of the batting collapsed, and the team was bowled out for just 201 after South Africa piled up 489.
Kumble, watching the collapse unfold in Guwahati, highlighted how much the batting order has changed in recent years, especially under Gautam Gambhir’s stint, and how the top five have been constantly reshuffled.
Too many changes are unsettling for the players: Anil Kumble slams Gautam Gambhir
He felt Sundar belonged lower down the order, where his ability to fight under pressure can make a bigger impact, and that’s exactly what he showed in the first innings in the ongoing final Test.
The legendary spinner also pointed out that changing the batting order again and again can shake a player’s confidence and make it harder for them to find rhythm and settle into their roles.
Kumble signed off by saying, “Yes, they will come good; they will be off days. It’s just a matter of supporting them for a period of six, seven, or eight Test matches. But if you look back at the last, what, 10-12 Test matches, the batting orders at the top have been up and down.
There’ve been a lot of changes there, so that’s, I’m sure, a bit unsettling for the players too. So, looking at all of that and the effort here, you know, you feel disappointed. You expected the effort to be better. Yeah, valid points that, uh, in terms of just the batting order, shuffling around a bit, uh, could be quite disturbing for some of these batters.”