Former India coach Ravi Shastri expressed deep disappointment over the team's recent Test cricket decline, urging both
players and management to accept responsibility. He highlighted a dramatic collapse in the Guwahati Test as an example
of the team's underperformance, stating that such results are unacceptable given the talent available in the country.
Ravi Shastri and Gautam Gambhir
NEW DELHi: Former head coach Ravi Shastri has delivered one of his most pointed critiques yet of India's dramatic fall
in Test cricket, declaring that both players and the team management must take responsibility for the decline. The
former India head coach, who oversaw the team's successful run alongside Virat Kohli, said he is deeply hurt by the
sight of a side that once dominated home and away now suffering whitewashes against New Zealand and South Africa at
home.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Shastri, speaking to Prabhat Khabar in a podcast
teaser, was visibly frustrated while recalling India's collapse in the Guwahati Test. “You tell me. What happened in
Guwahati – from 100/1, you skip to 130/7? This team is not that bad either. They have this much talent at least. The
players should take some responsibility too. You have played spin since you started playing cricket,” he said.
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Asked whether he was defending new head coach Gautam Gambhir, Shastri was blunt. “I'm not protecting [him]. One hundred
per cent he is responsible too. When am I saying anything otherwise?” he said. Then came his most striking comment.
“Agar yeh mere saath hota, main pehla responsibility leta (Had this happened with me, I would have been the first one to
take responsibility). But then, I wouldn't have spared the players either in the team meeting.” The frustration stems
from high standards Shastri's own tenure had set. Between 2017 and 2021, India became the world's best travelling Test
side, winning two historic series in Australia, staying No. 1 for 42 months and losing only two matches at home under
Who do you think is primarily responsible for India's decline in Test cricket?
Players Team Management Both equally External Factors
While Rahul Dravid revived the team after a slow start, leading India to home series wins and a second WTC final, that
trajectory has stalled under Gambhir. India have managed just two Test series victories in 14 months — against
Bangladesh and West Indies — while suffering heavy defeats in Australia and a draw in England.