This past weekend saw a variety of sport being played. The main focus were the 1st Test between SA and India; the Autumn Nations Series and the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. While all of the encounters were enthralling, there were a few controversies that stood out.
South Africa successfully overcame India by winning by 30 runs. This was the first time South Africa had beaten India, in India, for 15 years. As a result of this, the Indian team has come under heavy scrutiny.
India's return to Eden Gardens (Kolkata) for a first Test match at the iconic venue in six years - the longest gap since 1948 - didn't go as planned as the home team succumbed to yet another home defeat under head coach, Gautam Gambhir's regime. Having only recovered from the humiliating whitewash against New Zealand in November 2024, with a 2-0 win against the West Indies last month, India suffered their fourth defeat in six matches after failing to chase down 124 runs on Day 3 in the final innings of the opening Test match in the series.
Captain Temba Bavuma's fighting knock of an unbeaten 55 revived South Africa's innings on the third morning, as the visitors added 60 more runs to their overnight score for the loss of the final three wickets. Fast bowler, Marco Jansen, set the tone early with his quick two wickets that sent both the Indian openers packing, before Simon Harmer spun a web with his second straight four-wicket haul in the match as India, who were without injured Shubman Gill, were folded for just 93 runs.
One of the hallmarks of a champion outfit is consistency in selection and transparency in communication. These used to be stellar character traits in Indian cricket even until a year ago but one isnât entirely sure thatâs the case currently.
In the 14 months since Indiaâs first Test under head coach Gautam Gambhir, seven batters have occupied the pivotal no. 3 position. A couple of them â Virat Kohli in Bengaluru last October and Devdutt Padikkal in Perth 12 months back â were forced developments when the designated no. 3, Shubman Gill, was compelled to miss the said matches with a stiff neck and a broken finger, respectively.
A change at no. 3 was inevitable from this summer, when Kohli retired from Tests, Gill was named to succeed Rohit Sharma, also retired and decided to drop down to no. 4. In Gillâs first Test at the helm, in Leeds (Yorkshire) in June, Sai Sudharsan, the Tamil Nadu left-hander, was given that spot on debut. Sudharsan was dropped for the next Test with comeback man, Karun Nair, batting there at Edgbaston (Warwickshire) and Lordâs (London).
On his return to the XI in Manchester, Sudharsan reclaimed the one-drop position and held it for the next seven innings. In Delhi last month against West Indies in the last of two Tests, he brought up his highest score (87) in the first innings and backed it up with 39 in a modest second-innings chase. His reward? A place on the bench for Indiaâs next assignment, against South Africa in Kolkata where his fellow left-hander from Tamil Nadu, Washington Sundar, was thrust to one-drop.
On a treacherous deck where no batter looked at home, Washington was the most assured in both innings, negotiating 82 deliveries for 29 in the first dig and top-scoring with 31 off 92 in the second in an Indian tally of 93.
This revolving door philosophy isnât restricted to the no. 3 slot alone but of all the calls taken in Indiaâs last six Test series, this perhaps stands out the most. From England onwards, various members of the support staff and skipper Gill himself have waxed eloquent about Sudharsan, anointing him one for the future, a long-term investment that needed time and sensitive handling so that he could grow into an admittedly challenging role.
Sudharsan would have been well within his rights to expect to bat at Eden Gardens; one is certain Gambhir would have explained the rationale behind leaving him out of the Kolkata skirmishes but how does that help a young man trying to find his feet at the highest level? Letâs not forget that heâs only played five Tests to date.
One of the primary reasons for Sudharsan going out was Indiaâs fascination in playing a fourth spinner alongside Washington, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. The nod therefore went the way of Axar Patel, one of three spinning all-rounders. Axar has been a stellar white-ball performer, playing influential all-round parts in title triumphs at the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy and the T20 Asia Cup since June last year.
Before the Kolkata Test, however, he hadnât featured in a first-class match for 14 months. His only red-ball outing after being dropped from the XI following the Visakhapatnam Test against England in February 2024 was a Duleep Trophy fixture that same September. Axarâs utility canât be questioned, but the leadership group has pointed to Mohammed Shamiâs lack of red-ball game-time to justify his repeated omission from Test squads. How then will they explain Axarâs inclusion despite such a long first-class hiatus?
Karun is another enigma in the manner in which he has been handled. True, he didnât make the most of his return to Test cricket after eight years, with just one half-century in eight innings in England on mainly terrific batting strips. If the selection panel and/or team management has decided to move on, the least he deserves is to be informed of the same, like Rahul Dravid did with Wriddhiman Saha a few years ago. Again, like Shami, Karun is a senior hand â and, in case it needs reminding, is one of only two Test triple-centurions from India.
Then, there is the curious case of Kuldeep Yadav, superfluous all the way in England even when dry surfaces greeted the teams and that of Shardul Thakur, recalled for the England series after a year and a half ostensibly because of his medium-paced all-rounder status. Thakur played two Tests, bowled a mere 27 overs (Gillâs lack of confidence in his bowling was almost embarrassing) and has been given the heave-ho.
Harshit Rana, who debuted in Perth and played in the next game in Adelaide last year, was dropped for the England tour, held back as cover for the first Test in Leeds, released after the game and when India needed a back-up for the injured Arshdeep Singh in Manchester, was overlooked with Anshul Kamboj getting the nod. The latter may not find favour after his forgettable debut.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been identified as the solution to Indiaâs long and abortive quest for a sustained seam-bowling all-rounder resource for Test cricket, with the think-tank espousing the need for quality of opportunity. Against West Indies last month, he bowled a grand total of four overs in Ahmedabad and wasnât needed to bat, while in the next fixture in Delhi, he made 43 while batting at no. 5 and didnât bowl a single ball even though India sent down 200 overs on the trot after enforcing the follow-on, and even though Yashasvi Jaiswal was given one cursory over of leg-spin.
There's no point in even going down the Sarfaraz Khan route. 150 in the second innings in Bengaluru against New Zealand, then 11, 9, 0 and 1 in the last four hits of the same series. Travelled to Australia as a reserve batter, didnât get a game and was dumped for the tour of England. If there is any consolation for the 28-year-old, itâs that he isnât short on company in the âsummarily jettisonedâ list.
This conundrum of their own making has been amplified by the string of losses at home â four in the last six Tests. India seem to be doing everything possible, including laying out pitches that their own batters appear ill-equipped to succeed on, to stymie their progress. If several of the players in the squad and just outside it are seized by a feeling of uncertainty, if not insecurity, it isnât without reason. The leadership group must set the house in order, post-haste; the so-called transition phase canât be an excuse for addled decision-making.
Former India cricketers reacted strongly after the teamâs 30-run loss to South Africa at Eden Gardens, a match in which India couldn't chase 124. The defeat has re-opened questions about selections, planning and Indiaâs struggles on turning pitches.
Former cricketer, Irfan Pathan, said Indiaâs ability to play spin has reduced over time. "Skills to play spin on turning tracks around the world have definitely gone down, but this kind of batting from India shows how much our own ability has dropped too. Soft hands, wrist work, all of it has declined drastically," Pathan wrote on X.
Wasim Jaffer said India haven't corrected mistakes seen in earlier defeats. "Looks like we haven't learned our lesson from NZ (New Zealand) series loss. The gap between our spinners and opposition spinners reduces on pitches like this. We need to go back to classic Indian pitches, like the ones in the 2016-17 season when Virat was captain and Eng and NZ toured," Jaffer wrote on X.
Mohammad Kaif said South Africa used the conditions better. "South Africa showed if you bowl well, two spinners are enough to win a Test match in India," Kaif remarked.
Former India pacer, Venkatesh Prasad, has criticised the selectors and team management following the loss to South Africa in the 1st Test in Kolkata on Sunday. India were outplayed by the Proteas on Day 3 after having dominated the first two days of play at the Eden Gardens. Chasing 124 to win, India were bowled out for 93 after captain Shubman Gill did not bat in the second innings. Gill, who retired hurt due to a neck injury after playing just three balls in the first innings, was taken to the hospital for observation on Saturday.
Taking to social media platform X, Prasad put the blame of the loss on the selectors, as well as head coach, Gautam Gambhir. He rued a lack of clarity in the team selection, while highlighting the team's poor record in Tests since Gambhir took charge.
"While we have been excellent in white- ball cricket. We can't call ourselves a top Test side with such planning. Selections without clarity and over-tactical thinking are backfiring. Poor results over a year in Tests barring a drawn series in England," Venkatesh posted on X.
Spinner, Simon Harmer, was the hero for South Africa as he claimed a match haul of eight wickets, four each in both the innings. Harmer, who had figures of 4-30 in the first Indian innings, struck key blows in the second session including getting Rishabh Pant caught and bowled for two to dent the opposition chase.
Left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, struck twice in two balls to pack off India and trigger wild celebrations in the South African camp with the reigning world Test champions taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
South Africa captain, Temba Bavuma, hit a defiant 55 not out to lift his team's second innings total to 153 after they slipped to 91-7 on day two.
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has been massively under pressure after India lost a fourth consecutive Test match at home against SENA (South Africa; England; New Zealand and Australia) nations, failing to chase 124 in the fourth innings against South Africa in the series opener in Kolkata. A string of poor results under his tenure has led to many calling for a more experienced Test coach to step into his shoes and finding good cricket as well as results is now key for Gambhir.
However, Gambhir wasnât the only one under the microscope as the Eden Gardens curators caught flak for a surface which hosted less than 3 days of Test cricket. Sourav Ganguly, who heads the West Bengal cricket board and knows what it means to hold this kind of responsibility in Indian cricket, spoke at length about the opening Test and came to Gambhirâs defence following the opening loss.
"Thereâs no question of sacking Gautam Gambhir at this stage but there is no question that they have to get together and work hard to win Test matches because on flat pitches itâs a lot harder," said Ganguly while speaking on Sports Tak, providing his backing to the head coach.
"In India, you will see how quickly the game changes on Day 4, Day 5, so they have to be patient on that. They have the bowling attack to get 20 wickets as you saw at the Oval on the last day, as you saw in Edgbaston," continued Ganguly.
The former Indian captain repeatedly mentioned the 2-2 drawn series in England as an example for Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill and the rest of the team to try to look up to and stated if they could find success overseas, they would at home as well.
"Gautam as a coach and Shubman as a captain did exceptionally well on flat England pitches, and I firmly believe they can do well in India as well," said Gambhir.
However, Ganguly did have recommendations for Gambhir to change some things around in his combination, particularly to do with Washington Sundar. While the all-rounder was impressive batting at number three, Ganguly doesnât see this as a long-term solution for the Indian team.
"They must look at the batting order. I have a lot of time for Washington Sundar, I think heâs a tremendous cricketer, but Iâm not sure number 3 is his position to play in the long term in Test cricket," said Ganguly.
"Thatâs the area Gautam needs to look at, he doesnât need four spinners in India. When it spins and spinners can bowl 25-30 overs, you donât need four spinners. Keep your best 5 batters as your top 5 batsmen," he concluded.
Gambhir has been criticised in the past for going too heavy on all-rounders rather than specialist players in certain positions and finding the right balance in Tests is a different animal to finding it in limited overs cricket, where Gambhir has shown his expertise and sharpness.
The Eden Gardens pitch also became a huge subject of controversy after the 22 yards offered variable bounce right from the start, making batting difficult. Only one batter from both teams (Temba Bavuma) managed to hit a half-century - in the third innings - helping the Proteas set a target of 124.
India's team selection also came under fire, with the team opting to play four all-rounders and going in with Washington Sundar at no.3 instead of Sai Sudharsan. Prasad took aim at the team management, saying India can no longer call themselves a top Test side.
He also added that selections without clarity and an over-tactical approach have been backfiring for India, and that the time has come for some course correction.
"While we have been excellent in white- ball cricket. We canât call ourselves a top Test side with such planning. Selections without clarity and over-tactical thinking are backfiring. Poor results over a year in tests barring a drawn series in England. . #IndvsSA," Prasad wrote on X.
Priyank Panchal, viewed as India's domestic cricket stalwart, echoed Cheteshwar Pujara's assessment, saying the reason for the loss is not transition. Earlier, the former India no.3 batter had said that even when a team is in transition, a home Test loss is unacceptable.
It's worth remembering that India were whitewashed at home by New Zealand last year, before losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under. Panchal said that the recent losses on home soil can be put down to the deep-rooted inability to construct a Test knock.
"I agree with Pujji bhai. Even during transition, India whitewashed Australia 4-0 in early-2013, ousted SA in 2015, and steamrolled over New Zealand in India in 2016. The recent losses represent a deep-rooted inability to construct a Test knock in the team. #INDvSA,â Panchal wrote on X.
Under head coach Gambhir, India have lost four of their last six home Tests and the road to the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2027 has become tricky for the two-time finalists. In the first Test against South Africa, Gill walked off the field due to a neck spasm after facing just three balls and didn't return for the remainder of the contest as he was in hospital, receiving treatment.
Gill is now also in doubt for the second Test.
India will be desperate to stop the sid and get a result on the board in the second match of the series vs. the Proteas in Guwahati.
India's issues seem to be all over the place. A key issue that arises for me is consistency. The constant chopping and changing in the team won't help matters. It seems to me that that they've lost the fear factor that they once possessed. Perhaps a change in management is needed. A loss can expose a coach's weak points and thus the team becomes more and more vulnerable as time goes on.
Meanwhile, in rugby, the Autumn Nations Series is taking place where Southern Hemisphere countries are touring the Northern Hemisphere countries. South Africa took on Italy and won. However, despite that, the main talking point was the red card that was shown to Springboks' lock, Franco Mosert. The world is baffled by that decision and have made their feelings known.
World Rugby has been ridiculed: From former Italian international lock Carlo del Fava to former All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson, to former England international Andy Goode, there has been ridicule at world rugbyâs officials for the straight red card given to the Springboks lock, Franco Mostert, in Turin, Italy.
Mostert was shown a straight red card, as the second tackler, for what match officials deemed was an intentional shoulder to the head of Italian flyhalf Paolo Garbisi, who never went for an HIA and was up and running a few seconds after taking the tackle of Ethan Hooker and the secondary hit from Mostert.
There has been no shortage of support for Franco Mostert, with All Blacks legend, Jeff Wilson, saying the red card shown to the Springbok against Italy is pushing rugby into, "dangerous territory." At the same time, Japan coach, Eddie Jones, described the card as, "absurd."
Wilson, who anchors the New Zealand rugby show, The Breakdown, feels the previous weekâs tough permanent red card for Lood de Jager set a precedent that the referee in the Italy game, James Doleman, felt pressured to emulate.
"South Africa are physical players and at the moment, theyâre getting punished for that when they get it slightly wrong. Weâre getting into dangerous territory now," Wilson said. "Weâve seen across the entire weekend â and not just this weekend but last weekend as well â that referees are very quick to jump on these."
The precedent was set with the first on-field full red (to De Jager) and I think James Doleman almost felt a responsibility because he had seen all the footage from last weekend. Itâs a similar contact and he wouldâve been thinking, 'World Rugby is watching, I canât afford to let this one go'. Thatâs just ridiculous."
Wilson praised the Boks for their response to both red cards. "How good are South Africa? Two weeks in a row, theyâre down to fourteen men, and they just go about their business and find a way," he said.
"Italy were in this for long periods, and I think they wouldâve told themselves they could taste a little bit of history. But then the Springboks just went up a gear. They scored a couple of tries when they were down to thirteen men. They are some sort of rugby team at the moment, which everyone is chasing."
In the WalesâJapan game in Cardiff, there were four yellow cards, three of them to Japanese players. The colourful Jones was not amused.
"It is almost farcical now, the sin-bin situation. We are absolutely ruining the game of rugby," Jones said. "I donât think any of the actions today were intentional and deserved to be sin-binned â Wales or us."
"We need a more sensible approach to the game. There are going to be contacts with the head. Unless it is reckless â which I didnât see â we shouldnât be handing out cards like this."
"At one stage, we were down to thirteen men, they got a red card, and weâre still down to fourteen. The game of rugby is about fifteen players on the field, and World Rugby should be looking at this very closely."
Jones highlighted the red card to Mostert in Turin. "I saw the Italy game and what happened to Mostert â a guy gets chopped in front of him, heâs 6ft 8 and tries to drop his height, his shoulder brushes the head and heâs red-carded. Itâs becoming absurd," he concluded.
Jared Wright posted this brilliant stat via @StatBoy_Steven
âSince the introduction of the 20-minute red card, the Springboks have been given a full red card 3 times: July 12 vs Italy: Wiese in the 12th minute November 8 in France: Lood de Jager in the 40th minute November 15 in Italy: Franco Mostert in the 12th minute In 178 minutes combined in those matches after being shown the red card, they have conceded just 17 points and just 1 try, and won all 3.'
Of this writing, Franco Mostert will be free to face Ireland on Saturday after his permanent red card for a high hit was rescinded.
The 34-year-old was dismissed after 11 minutes of the Springboks' 32-14 win over Italy last weekend, with referee James Doleman judging that there had been a high degree of danger in Mostert's tackle on fly-half Paolo Garbisi and a straight shoulder, with no attempt to "wrap" his arms, meant no mitigation could be applied to the incident.
However, a three-person disciplinary committee determined that, although Mostert had made contact with Garbisi's head, he initially hit lower down. "[Head contact] was found to be secondary to the initial shoulder contact and made with much lower force and without the requisite level of 'danger' required under World Rugby's Head Contact Process to make the offending reach the red card threshold," the committee wrote after reviewing replays and evidence from Mostert.
South Africa are already missing Mostert's fellow second row, Lood de Jager, for the meeting with Ireland after De Jager was sent off for a similar incident in the Springboks' win over France a fortnight ago and banned for the rest of the autumn internationals.
South Africa assistant coach, Mzwandile Stick, claimed on Monday that his side were being treated unfairly by officials. He also referenced bans given to Makazole Mapimpi and Jan-Hendrik Wessels for incidents on club duty that have kept them out of South Africa's northern hemisphere tour.
Even without De Jager, South Africa are well stocked at second row. Jean Kleyn, who made five appearances for Ireland in 2019 after qualifying for them through residency and then reverted back to his home country after a stand-down period, started against Italy, with Leinster's RG Snyman and Ruan Nortje on the bench.
Eben Etzebeth, a talisman in South Africa's World Cup wins of 2019 and 2023, was rested for the fixture.
This whole situation confuses me. I can't now tell whether a player is set off for good or if it's for 20 minutes. I tend to agree with the pundits and Eddie Jones. It kind of looks like the referees are under pressure. However, they should focus on the game and situation at hand; instead of thinking back to the previous week/s.
This kind of behaviour can set the sport back. I'm obviously glad that Mosert is now free to play immediately.
Finally, in the World Cup Qualifiers, Nigeria coach, Eric Chelle, claimed that voodoo was used to make his side lose against DR Congo.
The West African nation will miss out on back-to-back World Cup appearances after losing to the Leopards on penalties in the African play-off final on Sunday.
DR Congo won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) World Cup play-off final, meaning they advanced through to Marchâs six-team inter-confederation play-offs and eliminating Nigeria from the qualification process.
Nigeria coach, Eric Chelle, claimed the opposition used 'voodoo' to help them secure the victory, which the Congolese have already denied.
When Chancel Mbemba scored the winning penalty, Chelle confronted several members of DR Congoâs staff including the head coach, Sebastien Desabre. He had to be separated from them by members of Nigeriaâs backroom team.
Desabre appeared first for his post-match press conference and said that the altercation was, "not an issue."
At the end of his press conference, Chelle asked reporters why they had not brought up the incident. Chelle, speaking French, then presented his version of events: "DR Congo guys were doing maraboutage" (technically a Muslim holy man, marabout has connotations of a north African witch doctor).
Chelle, 48, later doubled down on his allegations in English when walking through the media mixed zone: "During all of the penalties, the players of Congo were doing some voodoo."
A representative of DR Congo denied Chelleâs claims.
On Monday, Chelle took to social media to apologise for his claims. A statement posted by the Ivorian coach read: "Football is all about emotions. After the match, I reacted in the heat of the moment because of an altercation with a member of the DR Congo staff who was trying to come into my technical area.
"I never meant to target the Congolese people or their staff, whom I respect. I am disappointed that we have been eliminated, but proud of my players. Congratulations to Congo, who were the better team."
"Their fans showed great enthusiasm, as did ours. We will move forward together. I would also like to point out that any Twitter account in my name is fake."
Former Nigeria international, Ifeanyi Udeze, claims the blame lies with the players for not showing up on the day.
"Voodoo is not the reason Super Eagles lost, DR Congo deserved to win because they showed character, they showed that they want to go to the World Cup," Udeze said on Brila FM, as per Complete Sports.
"We always blame the NFF for everything, but this time the players should take the blame. The NFF, NSC, and even the federal government did everything to make sure the World Cup ticket is secured, but the players let everyone down. For me, I will call out the players because they didnât show up," he went on.
When I saw this headline, I was flabbagasted. What team or coach would use voodoo to win? It's highly delusional. A coach should be a straight shooter. Blaming others for your loss is just plain childish.
The important thing is that he realised what he'd said and apologised for it.