Gautam Gambhir’s Poor Test Coaching Record for India Draws Criticism

Cricket Expert Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir's Test Record as a Coach

“There is a lot of pressure on Gautam Gambhir. The pressure is absolutely mounting. If you look at his performances in Test cricket, you will find that he has not won a lot of matches. He won two matches against Bangladesh and one against Australia. 

However, he lost three against New Zealand, three against Australia, and one against England. He has been continuously losing, but in Test cricket, I think the questions are going to be there. And I think there is a lot of pressure on this series.

If the England series doesn't go too well, then there will be a question mark - where are they going and what are they doing? Because the selectors will feel that whatever team management is asking for, it is being given. 

The type of player you want, the number of players you want, and the player you are pointing at are being given. So, if that is the case, you need to deliver the results. Period. There are no excuses," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Aakash Chopra is a recognised cricket expert known for his detailed analysis and predictions. Even though Aakash’s career didn't last much in international cricket, his commentary career is long, and his views and analysis are liked by many. In his YouTube video known as Aakashvani, he analysed coach Gautam Gambhir's career.

Gautam Gambhir’s Record as Head Coach

It was evident that captain Rohit Sharma and Coach Gambhir were having a hard time as a leadership group but things turned out to be worse as the time passed by. Gautam Gambhir joined the team and was appointed as the head coach after he had a successful season as a mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL as the Knight Riders went on to become the champions for the Third time in the history . Gautam gained a lot of praise from the fans as well as the Cricketing fraternity.

Social Media was buzzing for Gautam Gambhir, and it looked like it was the right time to enter the coaching phase for the Indian team as former coach Rahul Dravid’s extended tenure came to an end after the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. Gambhir joined the team at a high level and looked like, under his leadership, Team India would dominate the cricket world now, but it was totally opposite in Test Cricket. 

Poor performance in home and away matches raised concerns in the team and fans started to criticize the team for their poor performance even the two legends of Indian Cricket Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were questioned for their place in the Test team. But Gautam somehow managed to shut the external noise and focus on the game but the results didn't follow.

India' Test Record in Home Matches Under Gambhir Coaching

India was one of the most dominant teams in their home conditions, as we know that Virat Kohli and his team had a long undefeated streak of winning home series, but during Gambhir's coaching, this historic streak was broken when India lost to New Zealand in Pune. Not just that, but the New Zealand team whitewashed India in all three matches played in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai. Fans consider this defeat a shame for Indian cricket as no visiting team has ever whitewashed India in Indian conditions. Two wins also came against a low-ranked team, Bangladesh, and in that series, we even saw collapses in our batting line-up. Things were getting from bad to worse. 

During the first test against New Zealand, India were in a spot of bother, but centuries from Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant rescued India, but that was not enough as India lost that match. In the second test match at Pune, India were bowling first, and once again the top order collapsed for India, and eventually this match ended a long streak of India not losing a series in India. The third test match came with hopes that we would get a good win for the WTC cycle, but once again, poor performance by the team led to India getting whitewashed in the series.

India's Test Record in Away Matches Under Gambhir Coaching

India went on for the Border Gavaskar Trophy after a humiliating defeat by New Zealand and many fans, commentators and experts thought that India won't be able to defeat Australia in Australia as they did in previous two series, Skipper Rohit Sharma missed the first match due to paternity leave and many thought that India will lose this series but interesting Team India defeated Australia in the first match at Perth and crucial contributions from KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah set the tone for India's win and their was ray of hope for the Indian team. But soon after that first test, the downfall of Team India began as they didn't win any match after this win in away conditions. The BGT ended with a lot of negatives for Team India. The news inside the dressing rooms was leaked, and speculations of retirement from senior players were there, and it happened too. Ravinchandran Ashwin, after the Pink ball test, retired from Test Cricket. Soon, the skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli followed, and this marked the end of an era for the Indian Team.