India’s Test cricket team was once unbeatable at home. For 12 years, they did not lose a single home series. However, that changed recently. India lost 3-0 to New Zealand in 2024 and 2-0 to South Africa in late 2025. Former coach and captain Rahul Dravid has now explained why this is happening.
Rahul Dravid believes the main problem is the busy schedule. Most Indian players play all three formats: Tests, ODIs, and T20s. Because there are so many T20I matches and the IPL, players spend most of their time practicing power-hitting.
Dravid noted that some players go four or five months without practicing with a red ball. When a Test match finally arrives, they only get three or four days to prepare.
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“In my generation,” Rahul said, “we had a whole month to practice for a Test series. Today, players don’t have that time.”
Current captain Shubman Gill has also asked the BCCI for more preparation time. Rahul Dravid says it is very hard to suddenly switch from hitting sixes in T20s to defending for hours on difficult Test pitches.
Another reason for the struggle is the type of pitches being made. Because of the World Test Championship (WTC), teams are desperate to win every game to get points. This leads to “result-oriented” pitches that help bowlers too much.
Rahul explained that coaches and teams now feel forced to ask for these extreme pitches to avoid draws. While this makes the game exciting, it makes batting very difficult for the home team too.
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Currently, India is in sixth place in the WTC standings. They need a big turnaround to reach the 2027 final. While India remains a powerhouse in T20I cricket, Rahul Dravid’s analysis shows that Test cricket requires a special kind of focus that is currently being lost to the busy calendar.