Gautam Gambhir, head coach for India's men's cricket team, recorded another Test match defeat as he completed one year as head coach of the India men's cricket team.
India lost by 22 runs to England in the third Test, part of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. The match concluded on Day 5 at the iconic Lord's, leaving India trailing England 1-2 in the five-match series.
Gambhir's Coaching Record
India's men's cricket team have played 13 games under Gautam Gambhir's leadership. The team has secured four victories, faced eight defeats, and achieved one draw.
This record includes losses in the first and third Test matches against England, along with a series defeat in Australia. Despite Ravindra Jadeja's 'heroics' in the Lord's match, India suffered a close 22-run defeat.
Under Shubman Gill's captaincy, the Indian team have performed creditably in the ongoing Test series in England. However, the team have faltered twice on the final day, in both the Leeds and Lord's Test matches.
India's Test Ranking And WTC
India's Test ranking experienced a fall from number one in July 2024 to fourth place by July 2025, following Gautam Gambhir's appointment as head coach across all formats last July.
India also missed out on qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship 2025 final after a series defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where the team managed only one win. That Australian series triggered the retirements of three key Test cricketers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli from the format.
Who Is Gautam Gambhir?
Gautam Gambhir, a significant contributor to Indian cricket, was one of the most complete batters in the game between 2008 and the 2011 World Cup, successfully opening in all three formats.
He displayed aggressive intent and played the kind of back-to-the-wall innings that would do Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman proud.
Gambhir also accumulated without taking many risks, much like Sachin Tendulkar did in the last quarter of his career. Yet, on either side of this period, Gambhir's technical flaws dominated his other attributes.
Despite this, he scored over 10,000 runs in international cricket, delivered "two significant innings" in World Cup finals, and led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles as a player and one as a mentor before taking up the role of head coach of India.
