Now that India’s men’s team have completed their international cricket assignments for 2025, it is time to take stock and look back. For head coach Gautam Gambhir, it has been a mixed year. Below-par performances in red-ball cricket, with the series loss to South Africa, have somewhat undone the success in England. In white-ball cricket, however, India under Gambhir have been stellar, and will go into the World Cup in February as favourites.
Test Cricket
Red-ball efforts at home have been poor. Failing to chase down 124 in Kolkata was a real downer. Yes, Shubman Gill’s presence could have—and should have—made a difference. All India needed was 30 runs from him across two innings. As the best batter in the team, he is well capable of getting it done, and playing with ten men against eleven is always a challenge.
Having said that, the men who were there should have scored the runs and closed things out. One counter-attacking innings would have done the job. Kolkata hurt Gambhir, and there is no denying it.
Guwahati was worse, and India simply did not compete. The frailty against spin was exposed, and there were question marks over the batters’ temperament as well.
England was surely the high point of India’s Test year, and the team showed real fight under Gill’s captaincy. That, once more, underlines how his presence in Kolkata could have made a difference. Mohammed Siraj stood up in England in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah for two Tests, and going forward, India can be a strong force in overseas conditions.
50-Over Cricket
India have had a very good year in this format. Winning the Champions Trophy in March without breaking a sweat has to be the high point, followed by a series win against South Africa at home to close out the year. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli proved they are still very much a force, which should give fans plenty to cheer about heading into 2026.
New talent also came through, and some bold experiments marked the end of the year. Ruturaj Gaikwad at No. 4 was one such example. With the World Cup still some distance away, there will be more experimentation in the days ahead. But the signs, one may say, are all good.
T20 Cricket
This has been India’s go-to format in 2025. They have won almost everything, and stars like Abhishek Sharma have become forces to reckon with. Victories over South Africa and England started the year, and India consolidated with wins over Australia and South Africa at home, not to mention the Asia Cup in Dubai.
The Gill experiment failed, leading to a course correction with the World Cup in mind. Players like Harshit Rana made their mark, and the return of Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav has made India’s bowling a truly potent force. Bumrah has also made a strong return to the format. If only Suryakumar Yadav finds his scoring touch, this could be a team well set to defend their world title.
My Ratings for Gautam Gambhir
- Test cricket: 4/10
- ODI cricket: 7.5/10
- T20 cricket: 9/10
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