Rough transition: The Indian men’s cricket team is over troubled waters, with more changes to come
Gautam Gambhir’s coaching era is off to a rough start with the national team, and with several key players on the wrong side of the 30s, more changes may come.
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This article originally appeared in The Field’s newsletter, Game Points, on October 30, 2024. Sign up here to get the newsletter directly delivered to your inbox every week.
On Saturday, for the first time in over a decade, the Indian men’s cricket team lost a home Test series.
After their rather convincing victory in the rain-affected first Test in Bengaluru, the Tom Latham-led New Zealand side schooled India in just three days in the second Test in Pune to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
The loss in Pune marked the end of one of the greatest sporting streaks. India had won 18 consecutive Test series at home over the last 12 years, before the Kiwis stopped them in their tracks. This was a surprise result, considering that New Zealand came into the series after a 0-2 loss to Sri Lanka and were without the services of their best batter Kane Williamson.
But as far as India is concerned, it was a long time coming.
“We are allowed one such performance in 12 years,” said captain Rohit Sharma immediately after surrendering the three-match series. “If we were collapsing like this on a regular basis, then we would not have been winning at home.”
Sharma’s statement could be discounted if this indeed was a one-off...
