India are winners of the last three major ICC white-ball tournaments. They were also thrashed in their last two major home Test series, defeated in their last two ODI series against top teams and failed to win a single T20 across six matches against Ireland and England, despite being double world champions.
So which one is true? Have India become the team that focuses only on major tournaments and lets things slide during bilateral series? Or were the ICC tournaments a lucky break for an Indian that has structural issues?
The serial champions have been so abject in between major tournaments, the glow of silverware – the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups and 2025 ODI Champions Trophy – is failing to hide the deep cracks within the side.
Unmitigated disaster
During the tour of Ireland and England, they were hammered across six completed T20s in both nations, while the more experienced ODI side fared slightly better, losing 2-1 to England.
But more than the results, the decisions of the management left a lasting impact.
Top of the list was the handling of teen batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old IPL phenom was not provided a soft landing against Ireland, but instead thrown into the deep end on some spicy pitches against England where he failed to reach 20 in three outings.
For some reason, World Cup hero Sanju Samson was moved around to accommodate Sooryavanshi. In the end, neither did anything of note, India were whitewashed and the two simply lost confidence in themselves.
At the same time, a barely fit Harshit Rana was parachuted right into the playing XI and promptly injured his hamstring against England. Spinner Varun Chakravarthy came into the series having just recovered from a foot injury and quickly found himself injured once again.
India were without main all-rounder Hardik Pandya while his replacement, Nitish Kumar Reddy, also missed the tour with injury. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was preserved for the ODI series against England, missed the decider after hurting his knee.
India had no answers to the fiery pace of Jofra Archer, guile of Sam Curran or the magnificent batting of Joe Root. And they were falling apart at the seams by the time England raked up 387-3 in the third ODI at Lord's.
Transition attempt a mess
What also became clear is that India's next set of cricketers are not ready. Sooryavanshi's debut was handled so haphazardly, he might need some time and counselling to get back on track.
Back-up bowlers such as Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Ravi Bishnoi were taken apart at various stages of the tour. ODI captain Shubman Gill lost another series, while new T20 skipper Shreyas Iyer was beaten in his first two assignments.
In between all of this, there were strong rumours of Rohit Sharma being phased out after the third ODI. There, Rohit blazed 138 from 110 balls while chasing 388. The team management is keen to test young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of next year's ODI World Cup. But how will they remove Rohit now?
Is time running out for coach Gambhir?
At this point, it seems every other player is fighting to hold on to his spot in the Indian team. World Cup winning captain Suryakumar Yadav had already lost his spot due to poor form. Their batting and fielding coaches are apparently on their way out as well. Which begs the question – how long can coach Gautam Gambhir evade scrutiny?
Gambhir has overseen ICC tournament wins alongside some of the most embarrassing defeats in recent memory – whitewashed in home Tests by New Zealand and South Africa, rare Test series defeat to Australia and now the losses in Ireland and England.
Questions will be asked about why Sooryavanshi was not backed for the entire tour, while an underachiever like Rana was picked at the first opportunity. Also, wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav did not play a single game even though five first-choice players were unavailable by the end of the England tour.
India were hoping to find players to support and possibly replace proven quality such as Pandya, Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja or even Virat Kohli. They have not found a single player of that calibre yet.
Given the abundance of all-format talent in the country, the only logical conclusion is that those picking talent at the top are failing to identify the right players. Next-in-line players such as Rana, Washington Sundar and Tilak Varma are nowhere near the best in the world. How much of this falls on the coach?
In a way, the Indian board might already have one eye on the future. The next assignment is a T20 tour of Zimbabwe that begins this week when VVS Laxman will be the coach.
India cannot possibly take Zimbabwe lightly. After the three-match T20 series in the African nation, India gear up for a perilous Test tour of Sri Lanka next month.
A few more disasters like the ones in Ireland and England, and heads will roll. For now, Gambhir's tenure as India coach runs until 2027. And he has the last two ICC trophies as his shield.
