“Honestly, we’re not looking at what happens in the Test World Cup, whether we qualify or not. Every series is important.”
Those were Gautam Gambhir’s words as India left for Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India needed to win at least four out of five Tests to reach the World Test Championship final at Lord’s. We know what happened after the Perth Test win during the series as Australia roared back to clinch the series 3-1 and end India’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive WTC final.
This comes after Gambhir took over as head coach following a 0-3 home thrashing at the hands of New Zealand. A lot was expected of the former opener when he stepped into the role – especially a new brand of cricket. Some fans even expected a bit of Bazballism, but the Bangladesh series turned out to be a false dawn. While cue ball success followed a India produced heroics during the tour of EnglandThe Test side still don’t look like world beaters.
Now, just a few months into the new cycle, the dream of making it to Test cricket’s biggest match seems to be fading away. India have already lost three matches and find themselves in fourth place. Another loss in the Guwahati Test could leave them with a mountain to climb in their remaining matches – and there aren’t many left.
This brings us to an important question: Is this Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team really ready to make it to the WTC final?
Robin Uthappa raised the same concerns on his YouTube channel where he outlined several issues and problem areas for the Indian team.
“You go with one size fits all and try to produce results. The target for the next two years has to be realistic,” Uthappa said.
With that in mind, let’s look at the issues that could hurt India’s chances of reaching the WTC final under Gambhir.
A PAINFUL TRANSITION
When a team is in transition, expecting quick results is rarely appropriate. For India, they lost two mainstays – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – right after the Australian series and ahead of the England tour, along with a reliable spinner and all-rounder in R. Ashwin.
But one thing India has lacked during this transition is stability. There wasn’t much chopping and changing when Virat Kohli took over from MS Dhoni and enjoyed a successful run. A total of 41 players were deployed during Kohli’s reign. On the other hand, Gambhir has already used 24 players, probably more changes.
The biggest area of instability has been the batting order. While Gambhir may believe that T20Is do not require a consistent batting line-up, Test cricket absolutely does.
India’s Test success has been built on consistency at the top – Gambhir and Virender Sehwag – followed by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar at No. 4. We have now seen Washington Sundar come in at No. 3 after earlier experiments with Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan were abandoned.
While Sundar has performed admirably, Sudharsan is a long-shot youngster and Nair is a home run machine. Still, both were given the short ropes, which unsettled the entire lineup. Reports now suggest another change for the Guwahati game, with Sudharsan expected to replace injured skipper Shubman Gill.
VERSATILE Stubbornness?
How many jack-of-all-trades is too many?
When the squad for the Kolkata Test was announced, fans were surprised to see three all-rounders in the XI. This has been a recurring theme with Gambhir across formats as he seems committed to fielding a line-up with multi-skilled players. But apart from Jadeja, the other two were hardly used.
Sundar bowled only one in the entire game, seemingly playing as a specialist batsman. Axar Patel, who has become a valuable lower-order bat, has been underutilized at crucial times.
Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his Sportstar column that this approach will not help India in the long run:
“India also needs to understand the difference between a Test all-rounder and a limited-overs all-rounder who picks a player who would not make the side purely as a batsman or as a bowler who might work in the short term but does not add real value,” Gavaskar wrote.
However, Gambhir seems committed to this method and it has hurt the role of specialists. India still lack a strong top three that can generate off-spin and also lack a third pacer to consistently complement Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
WHO IS THE THIRD PACER?
This is the question that really bothers the fans: Who is India’s third fast bowler?
Kohli and then Rohit made brilliant use of their pace trio, making them a threat in all conditions. But with Mohammed Shami sidelined for long stretches, India tried Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep with mixed results.
Harshit played two Tests for four wickets
Prasidh escaped in England for almost five
Akash Deep excelled in England but no one believed him in domestic conditions
Compare it to the last WTC finalists:
Australia: Starc-Cummins-Hazlewood
South Africa: Rabada-Jansen-Ngidi
India just doesn’t have that clarity.
Uthappa summed it up:
“Yes, you want to reach the WTC final, but is this team ready to get there? Who is really effective apart from Bumrah and Siraj? We lack a third pacer. To be honest, we don’t have a confirmed third fast bowler,” Uthappa said.
HECTIC SCHEDULE
After the England tour, the players only got a short break. Then came the Asia Cup, followed by the West Indies series and then the Australian white-ball tour, which included many Test players.
Now comes three ODIs and five T20Is against South Africa, followed by a visit to New Zealand. Then the T20 World Cup and the IPL – a stretch of nearly seven months – before Test tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand next year.
The schedule is not Gambhir’s fault, but it will inevitably affect the players and Test cricket.
“Visit teams play less cricket than India and have a lot more time to prepare. There is too much cricket going on,” Uthappa pointed out.
THE WAY FORWARD
For India, the Guwahati Test is a must-win game. They will then have nine more Tests to stay in contention for the WTC finals. But without a settled side and Gambhir sticking to his methods, the road looks bumpy. Maybe Shubman Gill saves his luck in the toss for the summit clash in 2027 doesn’t seem like a great idea at this point.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
November 21, 2025
