Former Team India batsman Suresh Raina defended head coach Gautam Gambhir despite the team’s poor performance during the ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa. The cricketer turned commentator said that a coach can give direction, but the batsmen have to put runs on the board.
In recent times, Gambhir has been criticized for the team’s performance in Tests. The Men in Blue lost to South Africa by 30 runs in the first Test at the Eden Gardens. The pressure on him has increased even more as the Temba Bavuma-led team has captured the second Test in Guwahati.
With South Africa in a strong position in the current match, India are on the verge of their first home Test series defeat to the Proteas since the 1999–2000 tour.
Mixed results in Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India’s Test coach
Gautam Gambhir has had a mixed performance as India’s Test coach since taking over after the 2024 T20 World Cup. They started their stint in the Test team by defeating Bangladesh 2–0 at home.
However, India was then defeated 0-3 by New Zealand. It is noteworthy that this was a big blow to his coaching career. The team also struggled in Australia, losing the series 1–3 and missing the chance to achieve a historic third consecutive win in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in overseas conditions.
There was a change of leadership as Shubman Gill replaced Rohit Sharma. India managed a 2-2 draw in England in a competitive five-match contest. The team won 2–0 against West Indies on home soil.
Suresh Raina supports Gautam Gambhir amid criticism over India’s Test struggles
Suresh Raina comes to Gautam Gambhir’s defense amid criticism of India’s Test struggles. Raina said that a coach can provide guidance, but batsmen have to score runs and work hard to be successful at the international level.
“A coach can only guide. A batsman has to score runs on the field. We need to practice. There is no fault of the coach,” Raina was quoted as saying by journalist Abhishek Tripathi on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Indian Test team’s worst performance on Suresh Raina
The coach can only guide but the batsman has to score runs in the field. We have to learn to listen. There is no fault of the coach in this.
-Abhishek Tripathi/Abhishek Tripathi (@abishereporter) 25 November 2025
India’s batting is being heavily criticized
India’s batting is being heavily criticized during the Test series against South Africa. They failed to chase 124 runs in the first test match. In the first innings of the second Test, the team was out for just 201 runs, while the visiting team scored a total of 489 runs.
South Africa declared their second innings at 260/5, with a lead of 548 runs. India will need a miracle to make a comeback and ensure victory.
Notably, India chased the target of 406 runs against West Indies in 1976, which is the third highest successful target in Test history.
At home, India has achieved a target of 300 or more only once. That memorable effort came in 2008 in Chennai when they chased 387 against England thanks to exceptional innings from Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir.
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