"Strange tactics led by Gambhir" - Former India cricketer blames head coach for 2-2 series draw in ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed concerns about Gautam Gambhir's 'strange tactics' in the recently concluded five-Test series against England. Manjrekar believes the Asian Giants would have won the series 3-1 if the head coach had selected the right playing XI based on conditions.

The decision to leave out left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav from any Test received widespread criticism, while Anshul Kamboj's call-up to the squad sparked surprise. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra said there was a lack of clarity among the selectors after Kamboj's call-up.

Writing in his column for The Hindustan Times, the veteran commentator stated that India could have won the series 3-1 but praised the youngsters for performing incredibly well.

"Jaiswal, Gill, Rahul & Pant & even Washy are your safe bets even against quality opposition but I fear for India’s seam bowling and its strange tactics led by Gambhir with regards to playing XIs and bowling changes, if these controllables were handled better, India would have beaten the natives 3-1 you would think. But this should not take the sheen off India’s overall performance especially the execution side of things... in this area, young India was fantastic."

Manjrekar went on to imply that the tourists shouldn't have disclosed beforehand that Jasprit Bumrah would only play three Tests on the tour.

"The one bowler with great skills and ability had a bizarre approach to playing in this series even before it began, so bowling greatness or excellence was seen very sporadically over 175 hours of Test cricket. That a class act like Kuldeep did not feature at all will remain one of the shocks of the series, when you are playing an opposition with a very weak bowling attack and a strange batting approach such selection blunders can cost you."

The management had announced before leaving for England that Bumrah would play only three Tests during the tour due to being injury-prone. The right-arm fast bowler played in the opening Test and was rested for the second, then played in the third and fourth. He delivered 119.4 overs in the series, taking 14 wickets along with two fifers.

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"My chest is still pumped" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Indian batters' performance

Sanjay Manjrekar. (Image Credits: Getty)

The 60-year-old suggested that visiting batters demonstrated great resilience by playing the long game despite having just finished two months of T20 cricket.

"Firstly, my feeling about young India batters does not change, my chest is still pumped in the way (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, (Shubman) Gill, (KL) Rahul, (Rishabh) Pant, (Ravindra) Jadeja and even (Washington Sundar) Washy batted. I won’t tire saying that in this age of T20 cricket, what these T20 compatible batters have done is nothing short of phenomenal."

He continued:

"They dug deep into their mental reserves not just for 2 or 3 or 4 Tests, but they still had enough left in the tank for another grind right at the end when most batters would be mentally done and finished. I am thinking of Yashasvi Jaiswal here."

The highest run-getter and wicket-taker of the series were both from the visiting side - Shubman Gill (754 runs) and Mohammed Siraj (23 wickets).