Former coach Rahul Dravid weighs in on India's recent struggles in Test cricket

By SABC Sport
28th January 2026

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid says the lack of preparation for Test cricket has contributed to the team's recent struggles in the longest format of the game.

India went 12 years without losing a Test series at home before suffering a 3-0 clean sweep defeat to New Zealand in in 2024.

South Africa won both Test matches in India in November last year, fr the first series success in the country in 25 years.

Dravid pinpointed the fact that multi-format players switch between the white-ball and red-ball so frequently that preparation takes a back seat.

"One of the things I understood as a coach, especially the guys that play all three formats, they keep moving from one format to the other," Dravid said in quotes published on ESPNCricinfo.

"There were times when we would get to a Test match three to four days before the match, and then when we start practising for the Test match, (and) when you look back at the last time that some of these guys had actually hit a red ball, it might have been four months ago or five months ago.

"That's become really a challenge, how do you almost find the time to be able to develop some of the skills that are hard.

"To play on turning tracks, or play on seaming wickets, doing that for hours and hours in a Test match is not easy. It requires skill."

India are placed a lowly sixth in the current World Test Championship (WTC) table and look unlikely to make the final.

Dravid said the nature of the means there are more result-orientated pitches being prepared by the home country, mostly favouring the bowlers.

"In the old days, you just had to win a series against the team; you were not looking to win every Test match," Dravid said.

"Today the pressure on home teams to win all the games has increased because of the World Test Championship. That's why I think you are seeing slightly more wickets which are favouring the bowlers too much. And not only in India, but everywhere.

"I have been only a coach when the World Test Championship is on and I have certainly seen that the pressure of those points has at times made you ask for result-oriented wickets. No one wants to go to extremes, but certainly results are important, especially in your home games."