"That was definitely bad" - Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir's tenure as India's head coach in Tests

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Gautam Gambhir had a worrying start as the Indian team's head coach in Tests. However, he pointed out that things have improved lately, considering the Shubman Gill-led side's impressive performances in the Test series against England.

Gambhir replaced Rahul Dravid as India's head coach across all three formats after the 2024 T20 World Cup. Although the Men in Blue have had a fantastic run under him in white-ball cricket, their performances in Tests have been underwhelming, especially against New Zealand and Australia.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener highlighted that, barring the series against Bangladesh, Gambhir had a disastrous start to his tenure as head coach in Tests.

"Gautam Gambhir has been the coach in 15 Tests, of which India have won five, lost eight, and two have been drawn. The win percentage is 33.33, which is not great. However, it's also true that India are going through a transition in Test cricket, and transition is painful," Chopra said (1:40).

"India have struggled a little in Test cricket. What happened against New Zealand was slightly surprising and worrying. That was definitely bad. In that backdrop, you went to Australia, and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's Test careers ended there. They didn't retire there, but they didn't play Test matches after that," he added.

While acknowledging that India's Test transition is not yet complete, Chopra observed that the team fared much better in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

"The transition is not yet fully completed. A young gun team has been prepared which went and drew the series in England. A new captain scored 750 runs at No. 4, KL Rahul got established as an opener, and things are looking up one more time. The start wasn't good. Not qualifying for the Test Championship was a serious blow, but things have started looking up now," he elaborated.

After a 2-0 win against Bangladesh in Gautam Gambhir's first Test series as head coach, India suffered a 3-0 home loss against New Zealand and a 3-1 away defeat against Australia. However, they bounced back to draw the five-match away Test series against England 2-2.

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"He likes bowlers who can bat" - Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir's imprint as India's head coach in Tests

Gautam Gambhir has preferred to play all-rounders like Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Gautam Gambhir has shown a liking for all-rounders, which potentially cost Kuldeep Yadav a place in the XI in England.

"One imprint is being seen in his coaching tenure, that he likes bowlers who can bat, whether it's Washington Sundar or Shardul Thakur, and Ravindra Jadeja has been given more responsibility. Sometimes you feel that Kuldeep Yadav is getting left out because of that, but I am sure Kuldeep would have a role when they play at home," he said (4:40).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Gambhir needs to address the No. 3 and No. 6 positions in the batting department.

"Secondly, a few things have gotten fixed. Nos. 4 and 5 and the openers have gotten fixed. There are still slight questions about No. 3 and No. 6, but knowing Gautam, as we move forward, although his philosophy is that, barring the openers, the batting order is flexible in T20s, I think he won't bring that philosophy into Test cricket. He will be very sure who he needs at No. 3 and No. 6," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra highlighted that he isn't too concerned about India's bowling department ahead of the upcoming home season. He pointed out that Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav as spinners, and Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep as seamers would manage the attack.