India head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up on the team's 3-0 defeat against New Zealand in their last home Test assignment before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 last year.
Gautam Gambhir on India vs New Zealand Test series
Rohit Sharma-led India, who faced New Zealand after defeating Bangladesh 2-0 in the three-Test match series, suffered a massive defeat by New Zealand in the three-Test match series by 8 wickets, 113 runs and 25 runs respectively, that dented India's hopes for qualification for the third World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Gambhir, who served as India's head coach for the second time in Tests, said that the defeat against New Zealand still hurt the World Cup-winning star.
"The home Test series defeat against New Zealand still hurts. I can never forget the 3-0 loss. I have told the boys. It is important to remember the past. If you forget the past, you can take things for granted. We thought we could steamroll NZ. We have to remind the boys that NZ happened," said Gautam Gambhir on Star Sports.
India's humiliating defeat in Australia
After suffering a defeat against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma-led India travelled to Australia for the five-Test match series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where they again suffered a 3-1 defeat that forced India to miss the WTC final spot. Notably, batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to perform in the series, and Rohit, who led India in three Tests, managed to score 31 runs. On the other hand, Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten century in the first Test, managed to score 190 runs in five Tests.
The duo also announced their retirement following their poor Test outings before the five-Test match series of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. After Rohit and Virat's retirement, the BCCI appointed Shubman Gill as his sucessor to lead India in whites.
India's current Test assignment
Team India are currently featuring in a two-Test match series against West Indies, where Shubman Gill-led side defeated the visitors in first Test match by 140 runs and an inning at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.