Gautam Gambhir Marks MS Dhoni's Blue Eyed Boy To Solve India's Biggest Problem

Gautam Gambhir plans to rope in MS Dhoni's blue eyed boy [Source: AFP]

Team India has reached unprecedented heights as a white-ball team since Gautam Gambhir has taken over as the head coach. Under Gambhir's coaching, India have won two ICC trophies, including the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2026 T20 World Cup. 

However, at the same time, the performance of the Indian Test team has hit rock bottom. A team, which was feared as a robust unit during Virat Kohli's captaincy tenure, lost its ruthlessness once the talismanic cricketer stepped down. 

Although Shubman Gill has shown promising signs as a Test skipper, the transition has impacted the team's overall performance in the recent years. 

As a result, India, once known as a fortress for the home side, has been breached multiple times by teams like New Zealand and South Africa. 

Talking about the current WTC cycle, India are placed sixth, staring at a humiliating group-stage exit for the second consecutive time. 

As they eye redemption in the WTC, the Gautam Gambhir-led management has pinned its hopes on MS Dhoni's right hand to solve India's biggest problem. 

India yet to fix their spin woes in Test cricket

Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were the glue that held the Indian batting lineup together. Pujara and Kohli were successors to the legendary Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar and carried their legacy forward with utmost success. 

Despite struggling against the moving ball at the twilight of their career, Pujara and Kohli were exceptional batters on home soil at the peak of their prowess. 

While Kohli scored 2699 runs at a stellar average of 77.11 across 26 home Tests between 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2020, Pujara followed him with 2192 runs, averaging 53.46 in the same period. 

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As a result, the Indian side was invincible at home, winning 36 matches and registering a stunning win-to-loss ratio of 3. However, after their retirement, India haven't found reliable batters in home Tests. 

Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja, none of the Indian batters has averaged more than 40 in home Tests since 2025. 

Since Gautam Gambhir has become India's head coach, the team has lost five out of nine Tests on home soil. A primary reason behind the Indian team's downfall has been the batters' inability to tackle spin bowling. 

The fact that 70.73 per cent of the Indian wickets have been scalped by the spinners since 2025 signifies the miserable state of the Indian batters against spin bowling. 

Gautam Gambhir eyeing MS Dhoni's IPL ace to solve India's biggest problem

According to the Times Of India, the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian management is considering trying Ruturaj Gaikwad as a specialist middle-order batter in the upcoming Test fixtures. 

After the conclusion of the IPL 2026, the Indian team will face Afghanistan in a one-off Test before crossing swords against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia across nine Test matches. 

The report states that Ruturaj Gaikwad might get a well-deserved Test call-up, as he can counter spin bowling and hence solve the Indian team's biggest woe in home Tests. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been MS Dhoni's blue-eyed boy and CSK's biggest hope with the bat since joining the IPL franchise in 2019. He has scored 3258 runs in 76 First-Class innings at an average of 45.25. 

Although he hasn't played Test cricket, Gaikwad has shown excellent skills against spin in T20 cricket, scoring 1223 runs against all spin types at an average of 43.67. 

Bumrah to play all WTC Tests, focus on Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel

The TOI report also revealed that Jasprit Bumrah will likely play India's remaining nine WTC fixtures. This is the reason why the BCCI selection committee might rest him from ODIs to manage his workload ahead of the 2027 World Cup. 

Young batters Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel are also expected to get a long rope, with the Gautam Gambhir-led think tank revamping the middle order following Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli's exit from the purest format. 

Padikkal might replace B Sai Sudharsan, who has let the team down with middling returns at number three. Meanwhile, Jurel might become a regular in India's Test XI as a specialist batter, with Rishabh Pant performing the wicketkeeping duties. 

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