‘Blame me’

Further, Gambhir said he would not try to dodge the blame for the loss against a very well-prepared South Africa. “The blame lies with everyone and starts with me,” he conceded in his first reactions after India lost the series to South Africa.

“We need to play better. From 95/1 to 122/7 is not acceptable. You don’t blame any individual or any particular shot. Blame lies with everyone. I never blamed individuals and won’t do it going forward,” he added.

Criticisms against Gambhir

Gambhir became the Indian team’s head coach in 2024 after Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended with the Indian men winning the T20 World Cup on June 29, last year. Under Gambhir, the men in blue played 18 tests and lost 10, including whitewashes against New Zealand (0–3) last year and South Africa (0-2) now at home.

Gambhir also attracted criticism for frequent changes in the team and his inclination to focus on all-rounders at the expense of specialists in the traditional format. He insisted that in Test cricket, a man with limited talent but a tough mindset could trump prodigal talent on any given day.

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“Red ball cricket is a completely different challenge to white ball cricket. There need to be a different skill set. And more importantly, there needs to be tough characters that are important to be a successful Test side,” he said, adding that, “You don’t need the most skilful and the most flamboyant players to succeed in Test cricket. You need the toughest characters with limited skills who will go on to succeed in Test cricket, irrespective of how the conditions and what the situation is”.

‘This is a transition period’

Gambhir, during the presser, reiterated that the team was going through a transition. He said transition was a word that he “hates,” but acknowledged that it was exactly what the side was going through right now.

The new crop of players in the Test set-up have been found wanting against the turning deliveries on a difficult track, and that could happen when the team’s core batting line-up has played less than 15 five-day matches on average.

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Asked why India hasn’t done well against quality spin attacks on slightly challenging tracks since the series against New Zealand, Gambhir insisted the team’s core composition, which featured Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, was different then.

“Look, first of all, the series against New Zealand, we had a very different side. This is a very different side. I’m sure you guys cover a lot of cricket, and I’m sure when you see this batting line-up, the experience of that batting line-up to what this team has, is chalk and cheese. So comparing everything to New Zealand is probably a wrong narrative,” he was slightly agitated as he answered.

Points out inexperience

He further pointed out to cite the inexperience of the current line-up in the team. “I don’t give excuses. I’ve never done that in the past. I will never do it in the future as well. But four or five batters in this top eight have literally played less than 15 Tests, and they will grow. They are learning on the job and in the field,” he said.

“Test cricket is never easy when you’re playing against a top-quality side. So you’ve got to give them time as well. So, for me, I think that is something they’ll keep learning. Hopefully, they keep learning. That is important.”

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“They need time to keep getting better against quality attacks and against quality sides. Yes, this is a team that has less experience, and I’ve said it before as well, they need to keep learning, and they’re putting everything possible to turn the tide,” he said.

(With Agency inputs)