Former India captain Virat Kohli's elder brother Vikas Kohli took an indirect dig at Team India's management as the team struggles during the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. After losing the first Test match against South Africa by 30 runs, Team India are on the verge of losing the second Test as well, with 522 more runs to win and level the series, an outcome that seems highly unlikely.
Vikas Kohli questioned Indian management
In his recent Threads post, Vikas questioned the changes implemented under the current management, suggesting that unnecessary interference had disrupted a system that had previously delivered results for India in whites. He didn't mention head coach Gautam Gambhir by name, the message could be interpreted as a reference to the coach and the shift in approach since he took charge.
"There was a time that we played to win even in overseas conditions.... Now we are playing to save the match....even in india.. This is what happens when u try to boss around and change things unnecessary which were not broken....," Vikas Kohli wrote in the Threads post.
The current Indian Team management includes Gautam Gambhir as head coach, chairman of the BCCI selection committee Ajit Agarkar, and Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill and T20I captain Suryakumar Kumar.
ALSO READ: ICC rewards Rohit Sharma with a big responsibility for T20 World Cup 2026
India's decline under Gambhir's tenure
The graph of the Indian Test team has witnessed a gradual decline since Gautam Gambhir was appointed as head coach. The team has registered more defeats than wins during his tenure, including an unusual stretch of struggles at home. The top six have averaged under 30 in this period, and India have repeatedly failed to post scores above 300, a sharp contrast from the consistency they once maintained. The slump came after the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the longest format of the game.
India recently suffered a 3-0 home series whitewash against New Zealand last year, followed by a 3-1 loss to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, during which they also missed out on qualifying for the World Test Championship final for the first time.