“Have you ever seen these many changes?” - Former India opener slams Gautam Gambhir amid ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu has criticised head coach Gautam Gambhir for failing to establish a consistent team combination during the ongoing fourth Test against England in Manchester.

On Saturday, July 26, the 61-year-old shared a video on his YouTube channel, @NavjotSidhuOfficial, where he emphasised that teams win through strong combinations, not individual brilliance. He added that the frequent and wholesale changes have disrupted the team's balance. Sidhu said:

“In the third match, Bumrah returns and Prasidh Krishna is dropped. In the fourth match, Akash Deep gets injured and Anshul Kamboj is brought in. What is going on? Have you ever seen this many changes? It’s not just bad, it’s worse. In the next match, Bumrah won’t be there, Rishabh Pant might not be there either, and you might not even play Anshul Kamboj, who’s bowling at 125-130 km/h. These constant wholesale changes keep disturbing the team’s combination again and again.”

“You're not able to build a proper combination. Who understands better than Gautam Gambhir that teams win because of combinations, not individual brilliance? When he was with KKR, it was the six-bowler combination that picked up 106 wickets. That made the difference. Bowlers win tournaments and series. What’s happening here? In the first match of the Test series, Bumrah plays, but Shardul isn’t given the ball alongside him. Then Shardul gets dropped, Bumrah doesn’t play, Akash Deep comes in, Washington Sundar comes in, Nitish Reddy comes in,” he added.

Meanwhile, more changes are expected in the Indian lineup for the upcoming fifth Test, starting July 31 in London. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be rested as part of workload management, while Rishabh Pant is expected to miss out due to a fractured toe.

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“The engine itself looks tired” - Navjot Singh Sidhu raises concerns over Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness

In the same video, Navjot Singh Sidhu also criticised the performance of India’s bowlers on Day 3 (Friday, July 25) of the fourth Test against England. The 61-year-old pointed out the absence of Kuldeep Yadav and observed that Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t bowling at his usual pace and appeared fatigued. Sidhu said:

“And the big question is, where is Kuldeep? Why? Look, if you see the Indian bowling today, it felt like there were only two and a half bowlers. The kind of body language they had, the way their shoulders dropped, just look at Bumrah. In the first Test match, over 40 percent of his deliveries were bowled at speeds above 140 km/h. In the next Test he played, around 27 percent of his deliveries were above 140. But today, only one ball crossed 140. So somewhere, the engine itself looks tired.”

Meanwhile, in reply to India’s first-innings total of 358, England finished Day 3 at 544/7, holding a 186-run lead with Ben Stokes (77) and Liam Dawson (21) unbeaten at the crease.