The year 2025 has proven to be extremely gruelling for the Indian cricket team under Gautam Gambhir’s head coaching, particularly in test cricket.
Gambhir promised to rebuild a young squad with a focus set on promoting a fearless brand of cricket. Contrarily, the stats in the longest format convey a different story.
Post the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India’s test records in 2025 drew severe backlashes from fans and experts. The team’s proud legacy was tarnished due to multiple unwanted milestones.
As the year-ender approaches, let’s review the three worst records of Team India this year in test cricket, which marked their downfall in red-ball cricket under Gambhir’s era.
BGT Loss to Australia After 10 Years
The test cricket calendar in 2025 began on a losing note for India. Ahead of the 5th test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025, the visitors had a chance to level the series at 2-2.
India’s batting collapses, fielding lapses, lackluster bowling attack, and tactical errors led to a 6-wicket defeat to the Aussies in the series decider clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). This ended their 10-year unbeaten streak in BGT since their previous defeat in the 2014-15 season.
For the first time, the Indians missed out on qualifying in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final after slipping to third in the points table.
Whitewashed By South Africa At Home After 25 Years
India’s test series loss by 0-2 to South Africa at home cannot be taken lightly. This is because the teams have maximum chances to take advantage of home conditions.
The multi-format series began with reputational damage for the hosts after they suffered a test match defeat to the Proteas, marking the first time in 15 years, with the previous loss having occurred in 2010.
The red‑ball series ended even more embarrassingly as South Africa whitewashed the Indians by 0–2, their first such home defeat to the Proteas in a test series since 2000.
Heaviest Test Defeat In Terms of Runs
While chasing a daunting target of 549, India succumbed to a 408-run defeat, their largest defeat in test cricket history, in terms of runs. The hosts were bowled out for a mere total of 140 on Day 05 of the second test in Guwahati.
A loss of this scale adds a negative record for India permanently in the test record books, often intensifying criticism from the public and media about Gambhir’s coaching strategies.
