3 reasons why India opting for split coaching post IND vs SA 2025 Tests would be the right move

Team India endured one of their most forgettable days in a home Test on Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. Having lost the series opener in Kolkata, the home side was already teetering on the edge coming into the ongoing contest.

However, after a productive opening day, India allowed South Africa to all but amass 500 in their first innings (489). Despite the dire position, Indian fans still garnered hope of a batting onslaught from the hosts entering Day 3.

Yet, what followed was a calamity of epic proportions as India got bowled out for an embarrassing 201 in their first essay. The Proteas helped themselves to 26/0 in their second innings, finishing the third day with an overall lead of 314 runs.

Team India is now staring down the barrel of a home Test series whitewash, barring a miraculous final two days. Head coach Gautam Gambhir continues to be a trending topic of discussion for all the wrong reasons in the ongoing South African series.

Many pundits and fans have called on the BCCI to have different coaches for each of the formats as India's Test side continues to sink into all-time embarrassment territory.

On that note, here are three reasons why India should opt for split coaching post the ongoing home Test series against South Africa.

#1 Gautam Gambhir's chalk and cheese white-ball to red-ball record as coach

While Gautam Gambhir may be an easy target at this juncture, considering India's Test woes, his white-ball numbers since taking over as head coach have been impressive.

The Men in Blue have won 22 out of their 25 completed T20Is, including all five bilateral T20I series and the 2025 Asia Cup. The numbers are similarly excellent for India under Gambhir in ODIs, with the side winning nine out of 14 games.

While they have lost two bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka and Australia under him, the side also coasted to an incredible Champions Trophy triumph earlier this year.

However, it has been a sorry tale under Gambhir for India in Tests, with the Asian giants winning only seven out of 16 matches with a result before the ongoing second South African Test. Further worrisome is India's back-to-back series defeats by 0-3 and 1-3 margins against New Zealand at home and in Australia to finish last year, followed by the ongoing South African debacle.

India went unbeaten in a home Test series for over a decade from 2013 to the middle of last year. However, they are on the verge of losing a second home Test series since Gambhir took over in the second half of 2024.

Such contrasting numbers between the white and red-ball formats demonstrate the need for India to move elsewhere in the longest format, while persisting with Gambhir in T20Is and ODIs.

#2 India must learn from England's last four years of employing both options

Team India can take cues from England's contrasting results at both coaching models in just the last four years. After a disastrous 2021 season, England opted for the split-coaching model, with Brendon McCullum appointed as the Test head coach and Matthew Mott the coach for the white-ball formats in 2022.

The move worked wonders with England winning the 2022 T20 World Cup and also dominating in Tests, winning 13 out of 18 matches until the end of 2023. However, after a mixed 2024, they returned to the traditional one coach for all formats at the start of this year, with McCullum.

The result has been a disaster, with the side underperforming unfathomably in all three formats.

After suffering hammering in the T20Is and ODIs in India, England were eliminated from the first round of the 2025 Champions Trophy. They dismissed the lowly-ranked Zimbabwe and the West Indies before losing a home ODI series to South Africa.

Their most recent humiliation was the 0-3 drubbing in the ODI series in New Zealand. The story has been equally disappointing in Tests, with England failing to win a home series against a struggling Indian side and now trailing 0-1 in the ongoing Ashes down under.

The visibly positive difference split-coaching made to England in 2022 and 2023, compared to this year, should tempt Team India into a similar move.

#3 The timing for such an experiment cannot be better

It is all about timing when it comes to any strategic or personnel change, especially one that hasn't been experimented with before. Clear as daylight is the fact that the side needs a change only in the Test format, with the white-ball teams still delivering admirable results under Gautam Gambhir.

With the Test side still relatively young and India's next red-ball assignment after the ongoing South African affair almost a year away, the team cannot ask for a better crossroad moment to identify and appoint the right candidate to take over the Test team. Gambhir also has plenty on his plate in white-ball cricket, with the T20 World Cup next year and the ODI World Cup in 2027.

By relieving him of his coaching duties in Tests, India may also be better served to ensure they win the next two white-ball ICC trophies. Meanwhile, the next Test coach could have sufficient time to map out clear strategies and a roadmap to ensure India returns to winning ways for the remainder of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.