Former Indian Player Points Out Major Tactical Blunder Following Ind vs SA Test Loss

Following South Africa's win against India in the 1st Test Match, Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his disappointment in the tactical decisions made by stand-in captain Rishabh Pant. The former CSK player shared that the decision to begin Day 3 of the 1st Test series with left-arm spin from both ends instead of Jasprit Bumrah was all wrong.

This change cost India, as the opponents were able to recover from their score of 93-7 and add some more runs to the tally for the Indian team to chase.

On his YouTube channel, Ashwin claimed, "The strategy at the start of Day 3 was wrong. Test match mornings should always start with your best bowlers. Bumrah and Jadeja should have started the day, then it should have been Kuldeep, and that is how the rotation should have happened. India made a massive error there; it was a tactical error, because of which the match slipped away from our hands."

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Gautam Gambhir Defends Pant In The Post-Match Interview

Following the loss, many questioned Rishabh Pant's captaincy. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir came in to support his captain and shared that the skipper believed having two left-arm spinners would be useful, and Gambhir was in support of that decision.

In the post-match conference, Gambhir defended, "The skipper felt having two left-arm spinners against them on this wicket could be useful. It was the right call. Most of the calls we took today, tactically, I thought, were spot on."

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Ashwin Weighs In On Shubman Gill's Absence

The Indian skipper had to retire mid-way on the 2nd day after he picked up a neck injury. BBCI later announced that Gill would not play any further part in the contest. While reacting to his absence, Ashwin admitted, "Going one batter lighter in both innings is a huge factor, no doubt about it. But, it is what it is. I don't think we are eligible enough to pass judgment on that, because we don't know what happened. Obviously, it must be a little serious because he was in the hospital. So, I don't want to dwell too much into it."

It is yet to be seen if Subhman Gill will take part in the upcoming 2nd Test, which is scheduled to start from November 22, 2025, in Guwahati.