‘The players combined haven’t played 100 games’ – ODI World Cup winner defends Gautam Gambhir amid India’s Test struggles

In Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach of India, he has transformed the T20I side into an unstoppable force. The former Indian opener has also brought his team success in the ODI format, winning the Champions Trophy last year. However, India’s returns in Test cricket have been quite abysmal.

They have lost Test series against New Zealand and South Africa in home conditions. However, former India speedster Munaf Patel believes that the reason for these debacles is not Gambhir’s fault entirely. Instead, he blamed it on the inexperience of the side. Patel pointed out that there have been instances when the players in the Test team haven’t played 100 matches combined.

The former right-arm pacer, who was a part of India’s ODI World Cup-winning side along with Gambhir, also praised the head coach for his contribution to the sport as a player and a captain.

“You are building a new team, right? When you build a new house, many things change. You are talking about Gautam Gambhir, right? His thinking is very different. His cricketing mindset is very different. Whenever he has played cricket, he has performed well. Even when he captained, he led the team to trophies,” Patel said while speaking on the Breaking Sports with Vivek Sethia YouTube podcast.

“Now, when you are building a new team, think about it: in the 20-year or 25-year era, how many players with 100 matches’ experience do you have? Today, your total team hasn’t even played 100 matches collectively. You are running a team where the players combined haven’t played 100 games. And you are taking this team to play in Australia and in England. They have performed in England; yes, they have done well,” he added.

Shubman Gill-led India find themselves struggling at No. 6 on the World Test Championship (WTC) for the current 2025-27 cycle. India failed to make it to the previous edition of the WTC final, which South Africa won after beating Australia at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground last year.