Should Gambhir continue as India Test team coach after horror show against South Africa? Here's what numbers say

India head coach Gautam Gambhir is all set to face the heat after the side lost its latest Test series against South Africa on Wednesday (Nov 26). The Indian team, which now faces a tough task to reach the WTC 2027 final and will have to contemplate the mistakes they made. But should the Gambhir remain in charge of the Indian side, as numbers tell a different story after the latest debacle against South Africa?

What do the numbers say?

India’s latest defeat to South Africa in the Guwahati Test is their 10th under the Delhi gaffer, having lost more than 50 per cent of the matches. So far, Gambhir has taken charge of 19 Test matches for India, winning seven and drawing two. However, it is the number of defeats that make his position more vulnerable.

His 10 defeats in 19 matches, along with series defeats against New Zealand, Australia and now South Africa, have raised question marks on his performance as coach. Although India gave a good account of themselves in the series against England, they only managed a 2-2 draw.

Last year’s defeat to New Zealand was also India’s first on home turf in 12 years. Interestingly, before the South Africa defeat, India had lost only two Test series on home turf in 24 outings, but have now lost two in 12 months and two in the last three outings at home.

Clueless plans

Heading into the Kolkata Test, Gambhir opted to use Washington Sundar as No.3 batter while the same player was used in the lower order in the Guwahati Test. The change came despite having the services of Sai Sudharsan in the 15-man squad. Gambhir’s call to drop the likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarafraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal altogether from the squad were also under scrutiny.

ALSO READ | From Steve Smith to Joe Root, 5 active batters with most runs in Ashes

Easwaran travelled to both Australia and England, but was not given a single match and was consequently dropped without any playing time.

Inclusion of Arshdeep Singh was also quoted, but he, like Easwaran, was only warming the bench. Mohammed Shami was shown the door and is no longer part of the plans in the red-ball format. Axar Patel, who has been effective on Indian pitches, was also dropped from the Playing XI for the Guwahati Test.

ALSO READ | From Leonard Hutton to Don Bradman, 5 batters with highest individual score in Ashes

Forcing seniors out

It is also well documented that Gambhir had an indirect say in the outcasts of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin from the Test team. The trio has already announced their retirement from the Test format, while Ashwin has already said goodbye to all formats. The failed transition to replace Virat, Rohit and Ashwin has also drawn criticism from different corners. The players preferred to replace the star trio have hardly clicked on, resulting in poor results.

So it will be interesting to see whether Gambhir gets the sack or will he resign from his post as head coach with poor results, all but making his position vulnerable.