India bowled out for 140 chasing 549. Margin of defeat; 408 runs.
It is officially the heaviest defeat by runs in India’s 93-year Test history. In the space of thirteen months, the same team that once lorded over the world from its own backyard has been whitewashed twice at home – first by New Zealand 0-3, now by South Africa 2-0. The fortress is rubble. The aura is dead. And the people responsible still sit in their chairs.
This is no longer a “transition phase”. This is systemic failure, arrogance, and outright incompetence at the very top of Indian cricket’s selection and coaching structure. Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar must be relieved of their duties immediately. Anything less is an insult to every Indian who woke up at 4 am in the morning to watch their team get humiliated.
An Unstable, Experiment-Obsessed Batting Order
In the last 13 home Tests (2024-25), India have used; 6 different No. 3s (Rahul, Sudharsan, Jurel, Washington, Karun Nair, and even Nitish Reddy), 5 different openers after Rohit’s retirement, 4 different middle-order combinations in the last four Tests alone
The result? India’s batting average in home Tests since November 2024 is a grotesque 26.4 – lower than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the same cycle. Against South Africa, the team was bowled out for 227, 164, 201, and 140. Not a single century in eight innings at home – a record last seen in 1932.
When legends retire, you replace them with your best domestic performers, not with IPL cameo artists. Yet the selectors and coach chose chaos over stability.
Blind Favoritism Over Blatant Merit
Some names have become untouchable regardless of performance:
Sai Sudharsan: 10 consecutive Tests at No. 3 in 2025. Average: 16.67. Highest score: 34.
Still played ahead of Sarfaraz Khan (Test average 55.66) and Rajat Patidar (first-class average 51).
Dhruv Jurel: Kept at Nos. 4-6 despite scores of 0, 6, 1, 0, 9 in his last five innings.
Sarfaraz Khan, who averages 69 in first-class cricket and 55 in Tests, was not even in the 16-man squad.
Harshit Rana & Nitish Reddy: Persistent selections on potential and “balance” while
Mohammed Shami – fully fit, 15 Ranji wickets at 10.46 this season – rots in domestic cricket.
This is not selection. This is patronage.
Criminal Neglect of Proven Match-Winners
Mohammed Shami: Took 15 wickets in three Ranji games immediately before the South Africa series. Verdict from the team management: “Not enough cricket.” Translation: We have already moved on without telling him.
Sarfaraz Khan: Dropped after one failure in England, never recalled despite domestic mountains of runs and a proven technique against spin on turning Indian pitches.
Kuldeep Yadav: India’s best wrist-spinner benched repeatedly for “batting depth” all-rounders who neither bat nor bowl effectively.
When your best bowler and your best middle-order batsman are watching from home while the team suffers its worst home defeat ever, something is rotten at the very core.
A Coach Out of His Depth in Test Cricket
Gautam Gambhir’s Test record after 18 matches as head coach (July 2024 – November 2025); Played 18 | Won 7 | Lost 9 | Drew 2 | Win % 38.88. Home Tests: 9 played, 6 lost (including two whitewashes).
He keeps talking about “tough characters” and “backing players”. Backing players is fine when they deliver. When they repeatedly fail and superior performers are ignored, it stops being backing and becomes stubbornness.
After the 408-run defeat he said, “The accountability starts with me.” Fine words. Now act on them – resign.
A Chief Selector Who Has Lost All Credibility
Ajit Agarkar presides over a panel that has turned selection into a lottery. The message to every young cricketer in India is clear: pile up runs in the IPL, get a few Instagram followers, and you will leapfrog the man who scored 3000 Ranji runs in two seasons.
This is no longer about one series. This is about the death of meritocracy in Indian cricket.
The Way Forward – Heads Must Roll
1. Gautam Gambhir must be removed as head coach of the Test team with immediate effect.
2. Ajit Agarkar must step down as chairman of selectors.
3. An emergency selection committee under a proven Test mind (Laxman, Kumble, or Dravid in interim role) must be formed.
4. Clear selection policy for the next 18 months; only domestic performance counts for Test cricket – no more IPL shortcuts.
India still has the talent to dominate Test cricket again. But not under this coach and not under this selection panel.
Today, 408 runs was not just a margin. It was a wake-up call written in blood-red ink.
Enough is enough.
Gambhir and Agarkar – your time is up.
Go.
