England all-rounder Moeen Ali has questioned head coach Gautam Gambhir’s comments regarding the team’s transition. After the 0-2 Test series loss against South Africa, Gambhir said his team is in a rebuilding phase as the players don’t have a lot of experience under their belt.

However, Ali said India has top players in the red-ball format and their recent results doesn’t justify the talent of the Indian players. Under Gambhir, India has lost five out of their last seven Test matches at home. In 2024, India also suffered a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand despite playing at home.

Meanwhile, India suffered an ignominious loss of 408 runs in the second Test match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati after losing the series opener at Kolkata by 30 runs.

Moeen Ali told NDTV, “I don’t know, it’s tough because India expects to win in India all the time. It’s not just the news of this series, it’s the news of the New Zealand series. I know he’s (Gambhir) saying it’s a rebuild, but it’s not really a rebuild.These guys are top players, one of the top top players.”

“But having watched a bit, I mean they had a good result in the UK, I thought it was a draw in the end, but India really prides itself. India’s on a bit of a different level where they pride themselves on that home in particular.”

Meanwhile, former RCB all-rounder said India’s former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is a big miss for the team in home Test matches.

“I think Ashwin is a massive miss. The spinners they have are good, but Ashwin was the guy who just gave them that. Especially in India, he was outstanding and I think he’s a big miss,” said Ali (via the aforementioned source).

India will next play a Test series against Sri Lanka in August 2026.