India have lost four of their last six home Test matches. Three against New Zealand and one recently to South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens. A common pattern has emerged across these defeats is that the hosts have repeatedly struggled against spin. After the first Test loss to the Proteas, India’s head coach suggested that inexperience within a transitioning squad was a major factor. But is that really the case?
During the New Zealand series, senior players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R. Ashwin were all part of the XI, yet India still suffered a 3–0 whitewash at home. With those veterans now retired, the team does have a few newer faces, but several current players have more than 30 Tests under their belt. Many have also played extensively in the domestic circuit, where spin-friendly conditions are the norm, making the “inexperience” argument less convincing.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra, however, sees it differently. He believes there is a noticeable lack of experience in the current lineup. He pointed out that players like Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel, who batted at numbers three and four in the second innings of the Kolkata Test, have had limited exposure in the longest format, which may be contributing to India’s recent struggles.
“There is a bit of inexperience. If you were to look at your number three batter, whether it was Sai Sudharsan or Washington Sundar.. It was the first time Washington batted at number three. Sai, if he would have played, then he too played a handful of Test matches. Dhurv Jurel, who is batting at number five, hasn’t played Test matches in double digits. There are two batters in your top five.. So there is some amount of inexperience,” JioStar expert Chopra answered India TV’s query during a Media Day ahead of the Second Test of South Africa's tour of India 2025.
“Shubman Gill, now the captain, also has a very young Test career. He’s not as established as someone who has played 75 Test matches. Yashasvi has been outstanding, but again, he has not played 50 Test matches. So, it is a relatively young side. Yes, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah have played more, but they are a lot who are inexperienced,” he added.
Chopra blames the conditions
When asked whether India’s struggles were due to inexperience or poor batting technique, Chopra argued that the real issue was the pitch itself. He described the conditions as “extreme” and unsuitable for Test cricket, noting that such surfaces narrow the gap between teams and enabled South Africa to apply significant pressure on India’s batters in a match that ended within three days. He added that Test pitches should be competitive for at least four to five days; otherwise, luck begins to outweigh skill as the deciding factor.
“I believe that we playing on surfaces that are so helpful to bowlers. Extreme conditions bring two sides closer. In a man-to-man marking, when you look at South Africa, none of their batters actually averages 40 in Test cricket. If you see the bowlers, they are playing only two spinners. They are not playing Serawan Muthuswamy because you have too many left-handers. By preparing pitches like we did against New Zealand in Pune and Wankhede or at the pitch we saw at the Eden, we bring the two teams closer and I think that backfires massively,” Chopra said.
“The conditions were so challenging and if we add to that the inexperience, there are more reasons for us to prepare pitches that are more like a four-five day Test match pitch. You will have to play really well over a period of time to win a game and it’s not a case of luck actually playing a major role as compared to skills. Markram and Kuldeep are not equally potent or effective. So, we need to play on pitches that are much better than what we have seen,” the 48-year-old added.