IND vs ENG: Gautam Gambhir slammed for 'No Stability' in Indian team amid Manchester woes

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India's ongoing struggles in the red-ball format have sparked serious scrutiny of head coach Gautam Gambhir's methods, with former cricketer Manoj Tiwary launching a sharp critique of the selection policies and strategic choices under the new regime.

India now trails 1-2 in the five-Test series, and questions are being asked not just about the players, but the direction in which Gambhir is taking the team.

Tiwary pulled no punches, arguing that Gambhir's vision for Test cricket is fundamentally flawed.

"There is no stability and he is not able to trust his players for a long duration," Tiwary told IANS. "His thinking of playing part-time all-rounders and winning a Test match is not possible. The players who have played for a long time, including me, I'm a strong believer of specialist players."

Since Gambhir took over as head coach in July 2024, India has won just four of 13 matches across formats, losing eight and drawing one. The team's decline in red-ball cricket has been stark, sliding from No.1 to No.4 in the ICC Test rankings and missing out on a place in the World Test Championship 2025 final after a dismal tour of Australia.

Tiwary specifically questioned the logic of prioritising all-rounders over proven specialists, pointing to a trend of erratic squad selections.

"I have said it earlier also that Test match is a game of specialists but we're keeping them out and trusting all-rounders more. In the India-New Zealand series, we saw Washington Sundar picked from outside the squad while Ashwin, who was already part of the team, was ignored," he added.

He also highlighted instances of players being fast-tracked and discarded, including Devdutt Padikkal and Harshit Rana during the Australia series. "Now, Harshit is missing and not among favourites anymore as we're playing Anshul Kamboj in this Test," he added.

India are struggling in the ongoing Manchester Test as well. After getting bowled out for 358 runs, England have a stronghold in the tie as they ended Day 3 on 544 for 7, with a gigantic lead of 186 runs.