Former Coach WV Raman Highlights Issues in India’s Test Selection Strategy Under Gautam Gambhir

Former India cricketer and ex-women’s team head coach WV Raman has criticized the current selection policy under Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, arguing that decisions are being driven more by “judgement” than rigorous “assessment” of players’ suitability across formats. Writing in his Indian Express column on Friday, Raman highlighted the confusion stemming from the team management’s apparent one-year roadmap that has still failed to clearly separate white-ball and red-ball specialists, leaving India vulnerable during a painful transitional phase.

Raman pointed out that the persistent preference for multi-dimensional cricketers in Test cricket has created an illusion of depth while diluting core batting and bowling strength. “There has been a consistency in that a lot of multi-dimensional cricketers have been preferred for Test cricket as well. And at times what happens is, if you have too many options, it can also lead to confusion… you really don’t know who to slot where,” he wrote, indirectly referencing lineups that sometimes feature only three specialist batters flanked by several all-rounders.

The 60-year-old coach stressed that selections should factor in pitch conditions, opposition strengths, and specific situational demands rather than relying on generic perceptions of versatility. “Selection also has happened more on judgement than assessment… Which means you’re not going to wait and see how a player goes about his cricket or how he’s improving and what he can do on the kind of surfaces that you’re going to play on,” Raman observed, suggesting the current approach risks long-term damage to India’s Test setup.

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Recent home series defeats—including a 0-3 whitewash by New Zealand in 2024 and the ongoing embarrassment against South Africa—have intensified scrutiny on Gambhir’s tactics and the selection committee’s experiments. Raman’s remarks come at a time when critics accuse the team management of overloading squads with bowling all-rounders at the expense of batting stability, a strategy that has repeatedly backfired on turning tracks.

As India grapples with its worst home test phase in decades, Raman’s call for format-specific clarity and condition-based assessment adds pressure on Gambhir and Agarkar to recalibrate before the upcoming five-Test tour of England in 2026. With the transition already proving turbulent, the former coach warned that continued reliance on subjective judgment over objective evaluation could prolong the crisis.

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