The Hindu Editorial

THE HINDU EDITORIAL

November 28, 2025

Domestic trouble: On Indian cricket and home Tests

Indian cricket’s traditional strengths are now seen as vulnerabilities

As the dust finally settled at Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, India’s dominance as a Test host was lying in a shambles. Seemingly invincible at home and with an aura that made former Australian captain Steve Waugh refer to India as the final frontier, rival units struggled to stay afloat. But empires do crumble and that reality overwhelmed Rishabh Pant’s men as South Africa won the second Test by 408 runs and seized the series 2-0. Last year, the visiting New Zealanders swept the Test series 3-0, and now it is Temba Bavuma’s turn to trigger a coup. The South African captain led astutely, both at Kolkata and in Guwahati, and his men’s excellent performance reiterated their defending champion status in the ICC World Test Championship. Coach Gautam Gambhir is facing intense scrutiny though under his watch India drew the away Test series in England and won the ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup. But the sudden vulnerability in Tests at home sticks out like a sore thumb. It is a fact that over the last few years, personnel have changed and India no longer features Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R. Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara in Test whites. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane has been dropped and Mohammed Shami is yet to find his way back.

Change is inevitable; but India’s downfall in home Tests has been steep. The absence of injured captain Shubman Gill in the second Test was a hard blow, and the rest of the batters failed to raise their game. The adrenaline rush and instant gratification that limited overs cricket offers seem to have dulled the survival instincts of many players. The patience to build a Test innings, the ability to bat for time, and the nuanced way of countering spin, have all waned within the ranks. There is talent in the squad, but the constant shuffling of players and an over-dependence on too many all-rounders have unsettled the playing eleven. Off-spinner Simon Harmer and left-arm speedster Marco Jansen bagged 17 and 12 wickets, respectively, through the series, and exposed chinks in the Indian batting armour. Over the last four decades, India had pedigreed batters at number three and four. Dilip Vengsarkar-Mohinder Amarnath; Rahul Dravid-Sachin Tendulkar; and Pujara-Kohli, have all done duty. It is time to find reinforcements while the batting core will revolve around Gill, K.L. Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, the last of the stalwarts, is 36. True, transition is a work in progress but spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and his bowling mates must be hoping to have more runs to defend from their batting colleagues.