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'Can't hide under garb of transition': Gautam Gambhir slammed for ‘embarrassing’ presser, accused of not learning
Gautam Gambhir refused to compare the two whitewashes, noting that India have undergone a major transition between the series
After a 12-year stretch in which India never lost a home Test series, a run often hailed as one of the greatest in cricket history, the team has now slumped to two whitewashes in the past year. They went down 0-3 to New Zealand in November 2024 before losing 0-2 to reigning World Test champions South Africa. Although head coach Gautam Gambhir, under whose tenure both defeats occurred, said in Wednesday’s post-match presser that he was not there to make “excuses”, he still listed several reasons for the slide, with “transition” being a key one. But former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad lashed out at Gambhir, urging him to stop hiding behind that excuse and accept his mistakes.
Gambhir refused to compare the two whitewashes, noting that India have undergone a major transition between the series with the retirements of R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He pointed out that the current crop of batters is young and inexperienced, and urged that they need more time to learn and grow at the international level.
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"I don't give excuses. I've never done that in the past. I will never do it in the future...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. That is important. Because I know that I hate using this word transition. This is exactly what transition is," he told the reporters at the Barsapara Stadium after India lost by 408 runs in the second Test against South Africa.
However, Prasad took to X to lash out at Gambhir, arguing that barring three players — Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel and Nitish Kumar Reddy — the rest of the squad has been around for more than six years in Test cricket. He added that the series merely exposed India’s tactical errors, their obsession with all-rounders, and the head coach’s inability to course-correct.
“We cannot hide under the garb of transition. Barring Sudarshan, Jurel and Reddy, most of the guys have been around for 7-8 years. Some very experienced campaigners. This is a series of tactical errors , obsession with playing all-rounders and not wanting to learn from mistakes. Embarrassing,” he wrote.
India have played seven home Test matches under Gambhir across four series and lost five of them. They also conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia last season for the first time in nearly a decade. Their only notable performance came in England earlier this year, where they managed a 2-2 draw — though many experts felt it was a missed opportunity, given that the Ben Stokes-led side was depleted.
India’s next Test assignment will be a two-match series in Sri Lanka in August 2026, followed by a tour of New Zealand in October–November 2026. They will conclude their WTC campaign with a five-Test home series against Australia in January–February 2027.
