Gautam Gambhir taking dig at Rishabh Pant? Coach drops ‘Don’t need flamboyant players’ bombshell
Published - 26 Nov 2025, 05:17 PM
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The pressure on Gautam Gambhir has reached its peak after India suffered a humiliating 2-0 whitewash against South Africa at home. The Indian cricket team suffered a record 408-run defeat in the second and final Test at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
With this massive victory, South Africa becomes the only team to whitewash India in India in Tests twice. It was their first Test series clean sweep in India after 25 years. On the other hand, it was India’s biggest defeat at home in terms of runs.
Gautam Gambhir becomes the first Indian coach to suffer two Test whitewashes at home
The questions Gambhir faced in the post-series press conference were some of the toughest of his career, as before this embarrassment, New Zealand had also whitewashed India in a three-match Test series 0-3 at home. He becomes the first coach to be whitewashed twice in Tests.
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It was really interesting how Gambhir tried to handle the criticism in Guwahati. Twice during the press interaction, the Indian head coach circled back to the same idea, and that was the team does not need flamboyant players right now, and the repeated collapses were happening because some batters simply did not have a backup plan.
He pointed out that a few players were stubborn about their style, even when the situation demanded a different approach. Gambhir did not take any names, but it was a clear hint about the stand-in captain Rishabh Pant, who lost his wicket while trying a wild slog when India was already under pressure at 105 for 4 in the first innings.
Start prioritizing Test cricket: Gautam Gambhir's message to Team India
Dhruv Jurel also perished for playing a careless pull shot against Marco Jansen, ending up with a duck off 11 balls. When asked how India can improve in tests, Gambhir spoke bluntly about the need to take red-ball cricket seriously. He pointed out that everyone connected to the Indian setup must be fully committed and noted that players must not treat both formats the same way.
Gautam Gambhir said at the post-match press conference, “Start prioritizing Test cricket if we are really serious about it. Everyone needs to be a stakeholder. If we want Test cricket to flourish in India, we need a collective effort. Just blaming players or support staff won’t help. And as I said, we can’t put things under the carpet. Come white-ball formats, if you get runs there and suddenly forget what you did in red-ball cricket, that should never happen.”
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Gambhir further explained that Test cricket demands patience, courage, and a different mindset altogether. He further added, “Red-ball cricket requires different skills. And more importantly, it needs tough characters. You don’t need the most skillful or flamboyant players; you need tough characters with limited skills who succeed regardless of conditions.”
Gautam Gambhir reveals the real cause behind India’s collapses
What made the press conference even more interesting was the shift in tone. Gambhir started by saying that the blame lies with every single member of the team, including himself. But as the questions continued, his answers clearly pointed towards the players’ approach and mindset, especially in crunch situations.
When asked whether India’s repeated batting collapses were due to technical flaws or something deeper, Gautam Gambhir said that the issue was mental, as some players did not read match situations well and struggled to adjust when the team needed stability.
He spoke about how important it is for players to truly care about the team and the dressing room environment. He said that accountability cannot be taught like a cricketing skill. Gambhir further explained, “It comes from care—how much you care about the dressing room and the team. Accountability and game situation cannot be taught.”
'Accountability is important' - Gautam Gambhir
He added, “Yes, you can talk about skills, work on skills, and discuss the mental aspect—but when you go in, you must put the team ahead of yourself. If someone thinks, "This is how I play; I don’t have a plan B," then you will get these kinds of collapses.
Accountability is important—but more than that, it’s care. How much you care about Indian cricket and the people in the dressing room. From 95 for 1 to 120 for 5—that’s not technical. It’s mental. It’s about how much Test cricket means to all of us. We need to keep thinking about what needs to be done and where we can get better. Individually and collectively.”
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Rashmi Wasnik is a passionate content writer with over a decade of experience. She started her journ... Read more
