Updated November 24th 2025, 13:27 IST

Ind vs SA: Coach Gautam Gambhir has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons over the past fortnight. We are into the third day of the ongoing second Test at Guwahati and India are already staring at an embarrassing whitewash. Traditionally, hosts is considered to be unbeatable at home, but in Gambhir's tenure as coach - India may face another whitewash in less than 18 months. Over the years, India has boated of their domination against teams at home, but that is changing and changing very quickly.
So with fingers being pointed at Gambhir, here are his mistakes during the series against South Africa.
Kolkata Pitch Row: Gambhir claimed that he had asked for a few things to the curator and was provided that. The game was over in under four days as SA won. The Indian players, more precisely the batters were at bay while playing spin. Gambhir should have realised the current Indian team is not good at playing spinners, unlike Indian teams from the past.
Confusing Sundar And How: Washington Sundar is a bowling-allrounder, but now, he must be confused over his role in the Test side, all thanks to Gambhir. Sundar was slotted in at No. 3 in Kolkata and he did not get a proper bowl there, now in Guwahati - he bats at No. 8 and bowls more than he did in Kolkata. Sundar must be in a dilemma over his role in the Test side.
Ignoring Specialists: Once Shubman Gill - a proper batter was out of the series, Gambhir should have opted for a like-for-like replacement. Instead, he backed wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel for No. 4 when you had an in-form Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Published November 24th 2025, 13:21 IST