The script went horribly wrong for the Gautam Gambhir-coached Indian team as they lost 1-3 in the recently-concluded Test series against Australia. It has led to widespread resentment especially since the Ravi Shastri-coached side had set the tone with successive Test series wins in Australia during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 tours.

“Those two series wins were a landmark in Indian cricket history like VVS Laxman’s epic 281 in 2001. It is a watershed moment, going to Australia and beating them in their own territory. It set the tone, but unfortunately, we lost this series thanks to bad tactics and poor planning,” said R Sridhar, the former Indian fielding coach, who was part of Shastri’s support staff.