BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has clearly said no to rumors that VVS Laxman will become the next head coach for India's Test team. He called these stories completely false and with no facts behind them.
Saikia added that the board has not made any plans to change the coaching staff for Test cricket. These talks started after India lost their home Test series 0-2 to South Africa. This is the second time in a row India got whitewashed at home under coach Gautam Gambhir. The first was a 0-3 loss to New Zealand last year.
Saikia told news agency ANI that this news is just wrong and based on guesses. He said even some big news channels shared it, but BCCI rejects it fully. No one in the board has discussed this. The rumors grew because India lost at home for the first time in 12 years. This ended a strong period for India in Tests, led by captains like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.
In 19 Test matches under Gambhir, India won 7, lost 10, and drew 2. They started strong with a 2-0 win over Bangladesh at home. But then came a 0-3 home loss to New Zealand. They lost 1-3 to Australia away in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A thrilling 2-2 draw against England away was led by young Shubman Gill. India then won 2-0 at home against West Indies, which gave some hope.
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South Africa beat India badly in the latest two Tests. In Kolkata, India could not chase 124 runs. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, spinner Simon Harmer, and all-rounder Marco Jansen played key roles. In the second Test, India lost by 408 runs, their biggest Test defeat ever.
Skipper Shubman Gill got a neck injury early in the first Test and missed both games. Rishabh Pant took over as captain. These losses may hurt India's chance to reach the ICC World Test Championship final, like the New Zealand series did last year.
Gambhir has done very well in shorter formats. India won the ICC Champions Trophy and Asia Cup T20I without losing a game. They also won the ODI series 2-1 and T20I series 3-1 against South Africa at home. This made the full tour look okay overall. Stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin have now retired from Tests. This marks the end of a great chapter and start of a new team build.
India's next big goal is to defend their T20 World Cup title from last year. The event starts February 7, 2026. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team. India plays USA first in Mumbai. They are in Group A with Pakistan, Namibia, Netherlands, and USA. This is the first T20 World Cup without Rohit and Virat in years. The young team has won all T20I series this year, so fans have reasons to hope.