Lost flair: On India and its Test cricket

India historically dominated home matches, winning 18 consecutive home Test series over 12 years. However, this run ended in October–November 2024 when New Zealand secured a historic 3–0 sweep. This was followed by a 2–0 home series loss to South Africa in November 2025, which included India’s heaviest-ever Test defeat by runs (408 runs) in Guwahati.

The ICC World Test Championship is a two-year league tournament played among nine Test nations. The 2025–2027 cycle is the fourth edition, where each team plays six series (three home and three away). The top two teams based on points percentage qualify for the WTC Final scheduled to be played at The Oval, England, in June 2027.

In June–August 2025, India toured England for a five-match Test series (Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy). The series was highly competitive and ended in a 2–2 draw, with India winning a dramatic final Test at The Oval by six runs to level the series. Shubman Gill was the standout performer for India, scoring 754 runs.

Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in Test history, took his historic 800th and final Test wicket against India at Galle in July 2010. Ajantha Mendis, famous for his ‘mystery’ spin and the carrom ball, made a record-breaking debut against India in July 2008, taking 26 wickets in a three-Test series, a world record for a bowler in their maiden three-match Test series.

Prabath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka’s leading left-arm spinner, is known as the ‘King of Galle’ due to his extraordinary success at the Galle International Stadium. On his Test debut there in July 2022 against Australia, he took 12 wickets (12/177). He also holds the record for being the fastest spinner in Test history to reach 50 wickets, achieving the milestone in just 7 matches.

Historically, Indian batsmen were renowned as master players of spin. However, in recent years, their batting averages against spin have declined significantly. Analysts attribute this to the rise of T20 cricket (which encourages aggressive, crease-bound hitting over defensive footwork), reduced participation of top players in domestic first-class cricket (like the Ranji Trophy), and fewer spin-friendly pitches in domestic matches.

Gautam Gambhir, a former Indian opening batsman, was appointed as the head coach of the Indian cricket team in July 2024, succeeding Rahul Dravid. Shubman Gill, a young batsman, was appointed as the vice-captain in white-ball cricket and has been handed captaincy duties (as skipper) for this transition phase in Test cricket as India grooms a new generation of players.

The Indian Test team is transitioning after the exit of key veterans. Ravichandran Ashwin retired from Tests in 2024. This was followed by the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in 2025. Veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were also phased out of the squad, marking the end of a highly successful era in Indian Test history.

For the August 2026 Test series against Sri Lanka, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out due to a knee injury sustained during the ODI series in England, with Jammu & Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi named as his replacement. Meanwhile, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami was overlooked by the selection committee despite his strong domestic Ranji Trophy performances, leaving the pace attack highly inexperienced.

India’s peak period in Test cricket occurred under Virat Kohli’s captaincy from 2016 to 2020, during which the team held the ICC No. 1 Test ranking for 42 consecutive months. Key milestones of this era included India’s first-ever Test series victories on Australian soil in 2018–19 and 2020–21, alongside a dominant home record.

Dhananjaya de Silva was appointed as Sri Lanka’s 18th Test captain in January 2024, succeeding Dimuth Karunaratne. An experienced all-rounder, his captaincy has revitalized the Sri Lankan team as they look to improve their standings in the World Test Championship cycle.

In August–September 1985, Sri Lanka registered a historic 1–0 series victory in a three-Test home series against Kapil Dev’s Indian team. The second Test in Colombo resulted in a 149-run win for Sri Lanka, marking their first-ever victory in Test history. This series win remains a landmark moment in Sri Lankan cricket.

The 2026 Test series against Sri Lanka serves as a testing ground for several young domestic players. Auqib Nabi is a right-arm medium-fast bowler from Jammu & Kashmir. Gurnoor Brar is a tall 6’5” fast bowler from Punjab. Manav Suthar is a left-arm spinner from Rajasthan, and Saransh Jain is an off-spinner from Madhya Pradesh. All have earned call-ups based on strong performances in the Ranji Trophy.

In January–March 2027, Australia will tour India for a five-match Test series (Border-Gavaskar Trophy). This will be Australia’s longest Test tour of India in over 50 years, forming a crucial part of the 2025–2027 ICC World Test Championship cycle, meaning the current transition phase is critical for India’s preparation.