Ajinkya Rahane reveals the reason behind India's Test struggles

Ajinkya Rahane, the recently retired batter, was always considered an unsung hero of the Indian team. During his playing days, he rarely engaged in verbal exchanges, preferring instead to let his bat do the talking against his critics. However, in a recent podcast appearance following his retirement, he shared some fascinating insights regarding India's struggles in Test cricket.

“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 session out. 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. 

While Team India achieved tremendous success in white-ball formats—winning two ICC trophies—during Gautam Gambhir's tenure, their performance in Test matches has been quite disappointing. The team has even suffered defeats in home series against New Zealand and South Africa. The biggest Test achievement under Gambhir's era has been the 2-2 series draw in England. Currently, the Indian team sits in seventh place on the WTC 2027 points table, and they would need a miracle to secure a spot in the World Test Championship final. Against this backdrop, Rahane emphasised that the fighting spirit within teams in Test cricket has diminished.

“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.” 

Rahane believes that the team needs courage, strong resolve, and immense fighting spirit to regain its lost stature in the Test format. Delivering a measured message to the Indian Test team, he stated that the squad must learn to fight and demonstrate true grit.

According to Rahane, the impact of the continuous transition phase within the Indian team has been clearly reflected in its performance. Over the past few years, many experienced players—including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Rahane himself—have retired. In fact, Rahane and Pujara had not even been able to secure a spot in the Test team for nearly two years.

Ajinkya Rahane acknowledged the vital need for experienced players in Test cricket—something the Indian team is currently lacking. From the current Indian squad, only Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah have played 50 or more Tests. 

“Test cricket fans are actual cricket lovers. What we built apart from the last two years when new players came in 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,” Rahane added.

“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, South Africa. These 4-5 teams specially. 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.”

Team India's next Test series against Sri Lanka is set to begin on August 15, and the team has already arrived in Sri Lanka for the tour. The first Test between the two teams will be played in Galle from August 15 to 19, while Colombo will host the second Test from August 23 to 27.