Indian cricket fans, once accustomed to the team’s invincibility at home and grit abroad, are now grappling with a painful reality. Since Gautam Gambhir took the reins as head coach, the proud legacy of the Indian Test team has unravelled at an alarming speed. What was meant to be a new era of aggression has instead become a timeline of monumental failures with Gautam Gambhir at the helm of the ship.
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The cracks first appeared with the disastrous New Zealand series. In a shocking turn of events, India suffered a humiliated 3-0 whitewash at home. This wasn’t just a defeat; it was the crumbling of a fortress. It included India’s first Test loss to New Zealand on home soil in 34 years, a record that had stood as a testament to India's dominance at home. The "spin them to death" strategy had started to work against them!
The nightmare continued Down Under. The much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy became a showcase of struggle rather than strength. In a five-match series, the team looked disjointed and managed to win only one Test, surrendering the trophy meekly. This poor showing, coupled with the New Zealand series loss, had a catastrophic consequence: disqualification from the World Test Championship Final. After being proud finalists in the previous two editions, India was left watching from the sidelines.
For a brief moment, the 2-2 draw during the tour of England offered a small glimmer of hope, suggesting the team might be finding its feet under new Captain Shubman Gill. But that hope has been brutally extinguished back on home turf.
Facing South Africa, India slumped to their first home Test loss against the Proteas in 15 years. Now, the situation in Guwahati looks grim. With South Africa in a commanding position, India stares down the barrel of a 2-0 whitewash, a result that would hand South Africa their first series win on Indian soil since the year 2000. Under Gambhir, the "unbeatable" Indian Test team has become unrecognisable.
