Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has identified the Test series defeats to New Zealand and South Africa, along with the treatment of some senior players, as the major blemishes on Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India’s head coach.
Gambhir’s tenure has produced contrasting results. Under his leadership, India have won two ICC titles — the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup in 2026. However, the team also suffered home Test series defeats against New Zealand and South Africa.
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Jaffer believes some decisions in white-ball cricket could also have been handled differently, particularly those involving established players such as Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
“Some individuals could have gotten better treatment, like Surya, who was axed after winning the T20 World Cup. There are other players as well, like Shami. Some things could have been better. But otherwise, I don’t think in white-ball cricket any blame can be put on him,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Times Now.
However, Jaffer said the back-to-back Test series losses at home would remain a significant mark on Gambhir’s record as coach.
“The mark of those two whitewash series will always be on him, without a doubt. Not just on his CV, but also on the captain and other players,” Jaffer said.
India suffered a 0-3 Test series defeat against New Zealand in October-November 2024, bringing an end to the team’s 12-year unbeaten home series run in Test cricket.
The defeat was followed by a 0-2 series loss to South Africa, which further affected India’s chances of reaching the 2025-27 World Test Championship final.
Jaffer noted that defeating India in a Test series on home soil had traditionally been regarded as a major challenge for visiting teams. He added that Gambhir would likely reflect on how different India’s position in the WTC table could have been had the team won those two series.
“There is a lot of scope for improvement in Test cricket for him. Not just for him, but for the players also,” Jaffer said.
With Gambhir having already overseen major white-ball successes, Jaffer’s comments underline the need for India to improve their Test performances, particularly at home, during the next phase of his tenure.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
