5 strong statements made by Gautam Gambhir in press conference after IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has been under pressure after the Men in Blue were whitewashed 0-2 in their home series against the Proteas. Notably, the home team suffered their biggest loss by runs (408) in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati on Wednesday, November 26. Earlier, they failed to chase down 124 against the incumbent World Test Champions in the opening Test in Kolkata.

One of India’s massive challenges came against spin, particularly against Simon Harmer, who bagged 17 wickets in the two-match series. Keshav Maharaj also bagged six wickets, while Aiden Markram and Senuran Muthusamy scalped one each, taking the tally to 27 scalps. Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Marco Jansen bagged 12 wickets, including a six-fer in the second game.

It was India’s second home Test series whitewash under Gambhir. They previously lost to New Zealand by 0-3 last year. It was India’s first home Test series loss since 2012.

On the other hand, India won by identical margins (2-0) against Bangladesh and the West Indies in their other home series in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Apart from that, the Shubman Gill-led side drew a five-match series 2-2 in England.

Following a massive loss in the second Test, Gautam Gambhir faced tough questions at the press conference. Here are five strong statements he made during the press conference.

“Indian cricket is important; I’m not important.”

Gautam Gambhir said it’s up to the BCCI to decide whether he is the right person for the coaching job in the longest format. The 44-year-old, however, reminded everyone that India drew a Test series and won the Champions Trophy under his coaching earlier this year. He said in the post-match press conference (via ESPNcricinfo):

“It is up to BCCI to decide. I've said it during my first press conference when I took over as the head coach. Indian cricket is important; I'm not important. And I sit here and say exactly the same thing.”

“I'm the same guy who got results in England as well, with a young team. And I'm sure you guys will forget very soon because a lot of people keep talking about New Zealand. And I'm the same guy under whom [we] won Champions Trophy and Asia Cup as well,” Gambhir added.

Notably, India will not play any Test match before August 2026, when they are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka. There are many options for India, including VVS Laxman, if they want to move on from Gambhir before the next Test season.

“Accountability and the game situation can never be taught.”

Gautam Gambhir refused to criticize Rishabh Pant and company despite a massive Test defeat. He pointed out that the players can only be advised, and it’s up to them on how they execute their skills in the middle. On this, Gambhir said in the same interaction:

“Accountability and the game situation can never be taught. You can talk about skills, you can work on skills, you can keep talking about the mental aspect of the game, but ultimately when you go in, if you keep putting the team ahead of your own self, not thinking, 'this is how I play, and this is how I will get the results, I don't have plan B,' so sometimes you will get these kind of collapses as well.”

“So, for me, I think accountability is important. More than the accountability, it's the care. How much you care about Indian cricket and how much you care about the team and people sitting in the dressing room is important as well," he added.

The remarks came even as Pant departed for 7 and 13 in his two innings. Notably, India suffered a middle-order collapse in their first innings, from 95-1 to 122-7.

Gambhir further defended India’s ability to play spin, saying four wickets or the majority fell to seamers (Marco Jansen) during the collapse. He reiterated the same thing after the first Test:

“From 95 for 1 to 120 for 7 is not acceptable. And we keep talking about [India's batting against] spin, but then one seamer got four wickets in that spell. And we've had these collapses in the past as well. Someone needs to put their hand up and say that I'm going to stop this collapse.

“For me, I think that 30-minute spell took us away from the game. Because at one stage on day three, we were pretty much in control of the game, where we were 95 for 1. And then, from there, to lose five or six wickets for nothing on the board literally was always pushing us back.”

“This is a team which has less experience.”

Gautam Gambhir further defended the Indian Test team, saying they didn’t have much experience following the retirement of high-profile cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. He added that this team cannot be compared with the old team that lost to New Zealand 0-3. Gambhir said:

“This is a team which has less experience. They need to keep learning, and they're putting [in] everything possible to turn the tide. Look, first of all, the series against New Zealand, we had a very different side. And this is a very different side. The experience that that batting line-up had [compared] to what this team has is chalk and cheese. So comparing everything to New Zealand is probably a wrong narrative.”

“I don't give excuses. I've never done that in the past. I will never do it in the future as well. But four or five batters in this top eight have literally played less than 15 Test matches [each], and they will grow. They're learning on the job. They're learning on the field,” he added.

“If you expect Washy to deliver straightaway what Ashwin did… It’s unfair.”

Gautam Gambhir further defended Washington Sundar, pointing out that comparing the youngster to spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin would be unfair. He stated that the off-spinner has played only 17 Tests and needs time to deliver:

“Why we are giving as many opportunities as we can to someone like Washy. But if you expect Washy to deliver straightaway what Ashwin did after playing more than 100 Test matches, it's unfair on that young kid. And that is what you guys need to think as well. That he is what -- 10, 12, 15 Test matches old?”

“He is learning his trade. He is learning to bowl in different conditions. He is learning to bowl in different situations as well. And obviously, it's tough when you lose so many experienced players at the same time,” he added.

“Start priortising Test cricket… Blaming certain individuals will not help.”

Gautam Gambhir concluded that blaming the players or coaches will not help the team, and instead, the focus should be on giving heed to Test cricket. He said:

“Start prioritising Test cricket, if we are really, really serious about Test cricket. That is going to happen overall, where everyone needs to be the stakeholder. So if we really care about Test cricket, if we want Test cricket to flourish in India, I think we've got to have a collective effort to make that happen. Because just blaming the players or just blaming the support staff or just blaming certain individuals will not help.”

"Come the white-ball formats, if you get runs in white-ball formats, suddenly you forget about what you have done in red-ball cricket. That should never happen.You don't need the most skillful and the most flamboyant players to succeed in Test cricket. You need the toughest characters with limited skills who will go on to succeed in Test cricket irrespective of how the conditions [are] and what the situation is," he concluded.

Led by KL Rahul, India will next play a three-match ODI series against South Africa, beginning in Ranchi on November 30.