Former Cricketer Advises Gautam Gambhir, Says India Must Have Seven to Eight Senior Players in the Test Team

Mumbai: Former India captain and dependable batter Ajinkya Rahane, who recently announced his retirement after waiting for several months in the hope of making an international comeback, has urged Team India’s management under head coach Gautam Gambhir to give greater importance to experienced players in the Test setup. Speaking on a podcast, Rahane said that if India wants to restore its glorious days in Test cricket, the team management must value and retain senior Test cricketers.
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While India have enjoyed considerable success in bilateral series and tournaments in the white-ball formats under Gautam Gambhir’s coaching, the team’s performances in Test cricket have been unexpectedly disappointing. According to Rahane, the lack of experienced players is a major reason behind India’s struggles in the longest format.
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Rahane said, “There are very few senior players in the current Test team, and that is one of the reasons we have not been performing well. Instead of relying almost entirely on inexperienced cricketers, the team management should have placed more faith in seasoned campaigners. To achieve consistent success in Test cricket, a team should ideally have seven to eight senior players along with two or three talented youngsters. At present, most members of the Test squad are relatively new, and there are hardly any senior players. Also, in my opinion, Test cricket fans are the true lovers of the game.”
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Within a span of just a few months, five stalwarts have bid farewell to Test cricket—Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane himself. Their departures have significantly weakened India’s Test side. Following a shocking 0-3 home series defeat against New Zealand, India also suffered a 0-2 loss to South Africa before going down 1-3 in Australia.
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Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin retired from Test cricket unexpectedly, while Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane eventually chose to retire after being overlooked for a prolonged period. Change is an inevitable part of cricket, and every team goes through a transition phase. However, what matters most is how that transition is managed and how the team management responds to the challenges.
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Expressing his concern, Rahane said, “I am deeply worried about the future of our Test cricket. Over the last two to three years, several experienced Test players have retired, and it is extremely important that senior players in the Test team continue to receive the respect and value they deserve.”

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