India’s aura of invincibility in home Test cricket has evaporated with alarming speed. Once dominant on their own pitches and fresh off a shock whitewash against New Zealand last year, the team entered the second Test against South Africa already under pressure after losing the opening match. A first‑innings collapse in Guwahati only deepened the crisis, setting the stage for a tense fourth day and widespread frustration.
It was during that period — after India slipped to 27 for 2 at the close of Day 4 while chasing an unreachable target — that Vikas Kohli, elder brother of former captain Virat Kohli, openly criticized the direction of the Test side. His now-deleted posts on Threads questioned why a previously successful structure had been dismantled.
“There was a time that we played to win even in overseas conditions…. Now we are playing to save the match….even in india.. This is what happens when u try to boss around and change things unnecessary which were not broken….” Vikas Kohli wrote in a Threads post.
His remarks struck a chord because they aligned with what many observers had already been pointing out: India’s once stable Test blueprint had become muddled. In a separate post, he drew a stark contrast between India’s selection approach and South Africa’s.
“So lets break it down: Team India strategy: remove senior experienced players. Remove proper 3/4/5 batmen. Play bowler at no 3. Use all all-rounder. SOUTH AFRICA STRATEGY: Play a proper test match team: Specialist openers, Specialist no 3/4/5/6 batters, Specialist spinners, Specialist fast bowlers and maybe 1 all-rounder. Though I really want team India to win but questions needs to be asked now… WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?” Vikas Kohli wrote in a separate Threads post.
The timing of the comments mattered. They came before the match ended, when India were only on the brink of defeat, not yet whitewashed. However, the final result soon confirmed the fears that had fueled the criticism.
South Africa completes dominant series victory
On Day 5, India added just 113 runs before being bowled out for 140. Ravindra Jadeja’s 54 offered brief resistance, but the collapse was swift. South African spinner Simon Harmer finished with 6 for 37, supported by Keshav Maharaj’s 2 for 37, Marco Jansen’s 1 for 23, and Senuran Muthusamy’s 1 for 21.
The 408‑run defeat sealed a 2‑0 series whitewash, marking the second time in just over a year that India had been swept at home. Combined with last year’s whitewash against New Zealand, repeated top-order collapses, and the surrender of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, the downturn has grown impossible to ignore.
With criticism mounting and the foundational structure of India’s Test side under question, Vikas Kohli’s posts have become part of a wider conversation about accountability and decision-making within the team setup. The comments were made before the final collapse, but they now read as a reflection of the broader decline unfolding in Indian cricket.
