Former India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has made a few interesting points regarding India’s struggles in Test cricket. Under the guidance of head coach Gautam Gambhir, India has done well in white-ball cricket with two ICC tournaments and one Asia Cup title.
However, India has fallen below par in Test cricket, including two whitewashes at home in Test cricket, which dwarfed the 2-2 draw in England last year. This meant that India now resides in the fifth spot in the WTC 2027 points table, with bleak chances of qualifying for the final next year.
Ajinkya Rahane strongly feels that the format needs grit, character, and doggedness for the team to reclaim its glory days. Rahane has sent a very subliminal message to Gambhir and the Indian Test team, asking them to be more resilient when they arrive in Sri Lanka before their two-Test series begins in Galle on August 15.
“Because I haven’t been playing Test cricket for the last two years, I’ve been sitting at home, watching the Indian team lose matches even in India as well. I think Test cricket needs character. You need to build such characters and play competitive cricket. That’s what’s important. Playing out sessions. You don’t see many teams do that. I don’t want to pinpoint any team, but you want to see people play out those tough sessions,” Rahane said on the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast.
“I have played with him [Gambhir]. I was not with KKR when he was the coach. I never played under him when he was the coach. We played together when we came here [in England], and even in India. But I feel Test cricket is always about playing sessions, seeing out tough moments,” he added.
Rahane further touched on the quick transition that the Indian team is undergoing in Test cricket. R Ashwin retired in 2024, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid goodbye to the format in 2025. Rahane stressed the importance of having more senior cricketers than youngsters in Tests.
“Test cricket fans are actual cricket lovers. What we built apart from the last two years, when new players came into Test cricket, I still feel Test cricket needs 7-8 senior players and 2-3 younger players. What we are seeing now is that all the players are actually new. There’s hardly any senior cricketer left. So, Test cricket needs that.
Frankly, yes, I do (fear for Test cricket). Because the way it is going, we all want Test cricket to survive, to be there—India, England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These 4-5 teams, especially. Because what I have seen in the last 2-3 years, you need to keep and respect the senior players, especially because with the Indian team, all the senior players going out together at once, that’s been the issue,” Rahane added.
From the current Indian squad, only Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah have played 50 or more Tests.
