Who said what – top 5 expert reactions on India’s 0-2 defeat in IND vs SA 2025 Test series ft. Anil Kumble

India suffered a massive defeat against South Africa in the second Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, November 26. The Rishabh Pant-led side lost the match by 408 runs, getting whitewashed 0-2 in the two-match series. Notably, the hosts lost the opening Test by 30 runs in Kolkata.

The Proteas began the second Test on a positive note, posting 489 in their first innings. Senuran Muthuswamy slammed a century, scoring 109 off 206 balls. Marco Jansen also scored a brilliant 93 off 91 deliveries. Wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne added 45 off 122. The trio helped the team stretch their total from 247/6 to 489 on Day 2.

In response, India were bundled out for 201, with Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scoring with 58 off 97 deliveries. Marco Jansen emerged as the leading wicket-taker with six wickets, while Simon Harmer bagged three.

In the second innings, the tourists declared at 260/5. Tristan Stubbs starred with the bat, scoring 94 (180). Chasing 459, India were bundled out for 140 in 63.5 overs, with Ravindra Jadeja top-scoring with 54. Simon Harmer took six wickets, while Keshav Maharaj scalped two.

It was the second clean sweep against India in a home Test series following a 0-3 loss to New Zealand last year. Following the defeat, several former cricketers, including Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, and Harbhajan Singh, slammed the team.

Take a look:

Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble and other former cricketers criticized India's poor show in Guwahati. Source: Getty

Former India captain Anil Kumble slammed the team management for so many chopping and changes in their playing XI and batting slots. The cricketer-turned-analyst hinted that the Test team lacks vision following the retirement of high-profile players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Speaking to JioStar (via The Times of India), Kumble said:

“Test match cricket requires a different mindset, you can't really have so many all-rounders, so much chopping and changing, so many changes in the batting order, in the team itself. Every second game, you have a new player coming in, a couple of guys get dropped.”

“India needs to sit down and think. You can't forget these results. When stalwarts retire, you need a vision. You can't throw players in and hope they develop when you have only one or two experienced names left,” he added.

Murali Kartik

Former India spinner Murali Kartik indirectly mentioned head coach Gautam Gambhir, questioning what went wrong for India this time around since they infused youth, unlike the 0-3 defeat against New Zealand. While citing the example of Dhruv Jurel, he also asked why there is constant chopping and changing of batting positions in the Test team. He told Cricbuzz:

“There is a lot of pressure on poor Gambhir. But this is the same coach under whom you won the Champions Trophy and drawn in England. Yet, only two series won out of six, and that was against Bangladesh and the West Indies, so the pressure is mounting. When we lost 0-3 to New Zealand, we had Virat, Rohit, and Ashwin, and didn't fare well. We didn't play well at all. Now this is a young team, so is that an excuse, or do you still say, when you can win other tournaments, why not at home? We need to find the right personnel.”

“Dhruv Jurel batting so well down the order suddenly gets bumped up the order, and everybody felt he can get picked just as a batter alone. But given that responsibility, he hasn't gotten runs in this series. I know the pressure is on Gautam, but we need to get the right personnel and have a thorough game plan going forward,” he added.

Harbhajan Singh

Legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh urged Team India to start playing on better wickets while pointing out their losses in the first two World Test Championship finals. The cricketer-turned-commentator further asked the selectors not to pick players in Tests based on T20I stats. He said on his YouTube channel:

“When you talk about the World Test Championship cycle, how many times have you won it? You have not won it, because there you get pitches that last five days. And then everything gets checked: your discipline, your game, everything. So if someone feels irritated hearing this, let them feel it. It does not matter to me.

He continued:

"But somehow, for the betterment of Indian cricket, I think India should forget what has happened in the last 10 to 12 years, what pitches they have played on. Leave those wins behind. They look good in records, fine, but start playing on better wickets to save the future generation of Indian cricket.”

“The older greats of Indian cricket are great because they knew how to play five-day matches. Anyone can play T20. A T20 player cannot play Test cricket. The kind of temperament needed to play Test cricket requires effort, hard work, discipline, and I feel that for many years this has been missing,” he added.

Irfan Pathan

Like Anil Kumble and Murali Kartik, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan slammed the team management for constantly changing batting positions. He also pointed out the team’s obsession with all-rounders in the playing XI and India’s challenges against spin of late. The 41-year-old said on his YouTube channel:

“In T20 cricket, it is understandable that players come up and down the order. But if you do the same thing in Tests, you will not be set. I know Washington has a lot of ability, but if you play him at three and eight, he himself will be confused, and in Test cricket, you need stability. If you do not provide that stability to players, performing at the top level for them will become difficult.

He added:

“Our technique against spinners is very poor, and we have to improve it. Harmer went ahead of our spinners. He had a brilliant variation. South Africa defeated us at home, even with players like Rabada not being there.

“Recently in England, India had saved a Test in difficult conditions. There, they had at least five pure batters. Five specialist batters. Here, you have only three specialist batters. How will you save the game and bat the whole day? You will not be able to. You need pure batters, and you need to make that change. If you have so many multi-role players, then where specialists are needed, you will suffer.”

Parthiv Patel

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel slammed the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff, saying they picked a wrong playing XI. Like Irfan Pathan, Patel believes India didn’t pick proper batters, adding that they also lacked specialist bowlers in the second Test. He told Star Sports:

“There are two things. One is the mistake of the coach. The batters and bowlers are doing their job. But the question is, are we playing with the right XI?"

"Does India need so many all-rounders in Test cricket? I believe that Test cricket is a game of specialists. You must have six batters. The best thing is you have a wicket-keeper batter who is among the best and who has an average of above 40. Then you need four bowlers and one all-rounder,” he added.