Gautam Gambhir becomes worst-ever India Test coach; falls below Greg Chappell after biggest loss vs SA

India’s latest Test collapse against South Africa has made them achieve a rare yet embarrassing feat in this century. The 2-0 whitewash at home against South Africa has raised serious questions about the team’s direction under head coach Gautam Gambhir, especially when compared to the record of previous Indian coaches in home conditions.

Since the 2000–01 season, India has been one of the toughest teams to beat at home. The former coaches like John Wright, Gary Kirsten, Anil Kumble, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid built a strong legacy of dominance, consistency, and almost flawless home performances.

India’s home Test record hits an all-time low

Only John Wright and Duncan Fletcher each lost one Test series at home. Under India’s first foreign coach of the modern era, Wright, they won 11, lost 4, drew 9, and ended with a W-L ratio of 2.75 in 24 home tests. Greg Chappell oversaw 6 home Tests, winning 3, losing 1, and drawing 2, with a W-L ratio of 3.00.

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Under Gary Kirsten, India became the No. 1 Test side. In 19 home tests, India won 10, lost 2, and drew 7, with a strong W-L ratio of 5.00. Fletcher continued the dominance with 15 home tests, winning 11, losing 2, and drawing 2, holding a W-L ratio of 5.50.

India, as a Test side, haven't experienced something like this in this century #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/uScYxxAv26

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) November 26, 2025

India's golden era under Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri took home dominance to another level. Across 19 home tests, India won 15, lost only 1, drew 3, and produced an incredible W-L ratio of 15.00, without a single home series defeat under Shastri. India also won two Border-Gavaskar Trophies in Australia during Shastri’s stint.

Anil Kumble also maintained elite standards with 10 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws, with a W-L ratio of 10.00, and no home series losses in 13 home tests. But Gambhir’s numbers stand out for the wrong reasons. In just nine home tests as head coach, India has won only four and lost five.

His win-loss ratio of 0.80 is the lowest for any Indian head coach in this era. More worrying is that India has now suffered two home Test series defeats under Gambhir’s coaching that no other Indian coach has experienced in the last 25 years.

India records biggest Test loss in Guwahati

Meanwhile, India suffered a massive 408-run defeat in the second and final Test against South Africa in Guwahati. It was India’s biggest Test defeat in terms of balls.

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This is followed by a 342-run defeat against Australia in Nagpur in 2004, 341 runs against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006, 337 runs against Australia in Melbourne in 2007, and again 333 runs against them in Pune back in 2017.

Gautam Gambhir records the lowest win percentage at home

Well, the numbers across coaching eras show how dramatic the fall has been. Rahul Dravid has a winning percentage of 58.3% in tests as India coach; Anil Kumble ruled with an extraordinary 70.5% win rate and only 5.9% losses, while Ravi Shastri delivered a strong 60.87%.

But Gambhir’s home tenure shows a win rate of just 44.4% and a massive 55.5% loss rate, including two shocking clean sweeps by New Zealand and South Africa. He has now lost five tests at home from nine games as the Indian coach.