India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir admitted that it is very difficult to replace Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin in Test cricket. While Ashwin announced his retirement on the tour of Australia, Kohli and Rohit called it a day from the red-ball version in May 2025.
The trio had performed consistently in the multi-day format and it hasn’t been easy for India to fill their big shoes.
Meanwhile, on the recent tour of Sri Lanka, batters like Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel were able to grab their chances in the middle order. Manav Suthar has also shown promise to go a long way in his career.
“The two years didn’t pass in the blink of an eye. I think I’ve had my own share of ups and downs. I’ve had my own failures and successes. But again, I’ve always believed that when you take up that kind of responsibility, there will always be ups and downs.
“So, whether it was Test cricket, whether it is one-day cricket or T20 cricket, yes, I’ve had success, which obviously I will always cherish, but I’ve had my share of failures as well. Which again, I accept with both hands,” Gambhir told broadcasters JioStar.
Gambhir said India will get better in Test cricket with more experience. India had earlier lost home Test series against New Zealand and South Africa and Gambhir opened up on the challenges his team has faced.
“I think the best part is that we’ve played reasonably good Test cricket since England. I’m not saying that we’re still not a work in progress because the amount of transition that has happened in Test cricket, especially with the likes of Rohit, Virat, Ashwin going, obviously it is very difficult to replace those kinds of players.
“Because the amount of talent, the amount of experience those guys had, and the amount of what they’ve done for Indian cricket in red-ball cricket, it’s not going to be easy for anyone to replace them, so it will take time. I’m sure if we keep backing the right players, probably Indian cricket will start dominating red-ball cricket for a long, long period of time.
“Because when you’re getting the new guys in red-ball cricket, you look at their age and number of matches they have played, you try to make them feel how important Test cricket is, because I’m a very big believer that a strong Test cricketing nation is a strong cricketing nation. So, red-ball still remains our priority,” added Gambhir.
India will tour New Zealand for two Test matches.
