India’s dominance in Test cricket, especially at home, has taken a hit over the last 18 months. Under different coaches and captains, India didn’t lose a single home series for 12 years from 2012 onwards. But now, in a span of just over a year, series defeats to New Zealand and South Africa have exposed major cracks that white-ball success has managed to hide.
The Kiwis rolled India over in a 3-0 whitewash in late 2024. Gautam Gambhir, the current all-format head coach, was criticised majorly before South Africa whipped India, this time with a 2-0 bashing in 2025. Yes, the current Indian Test team is in a transition after the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, but playing for a country that has almost 1.5 billion people, you need to do your best. Sadly, India haven’t done anywhere close to their best in the Test format recently. Due to this, the BCCI is hoping for a reset and start improving from the surface level.
Sooryavanshi in focus as BCCI begins red-ball reset
At the centre of BCCI’s reset is a new generation. Names like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre are now part of a structured plan to rebuild India’s red-ball depth, with the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru taking charge of the process. The state-of-the-art development centre, which has replaced Bengaluru’s NCA, will be used by the BCCI to conduct tournaments to continue the supply of red-ball cricketers in the country. It is fascinating news coming amidst the biggest T20 carnival, the IPL, which is currently going on.
The immediate step is an intra-CoE four-day tournament scheduled for June and July. Sixty-four players, all under the age of 25, will be split into four squads. Each team will play two multi-day games across different surfaces, designed to test technique, temperament and adaptability.
This is not a one-off experiment. It is a system being put in place with a clear long-term goal. Build a pool that can sustain India’s Test team over the next decade.
Four-day games, Sri Lanka tour and a clear selection pathway
The structure around this plan is detailed by the BCCI. Out of the 64 players, 25 will be picked by the junior selection committee based on performances in age-group red-ball tournaments like the Cooch Behar Trophy and CK Nayudu Trophy. Another 25 will come from the senior domestic circuit, players who have delivered in the Ranji Trophy and white-ball tournaments but are not part of the IPL.
The remaining spots will go to young IPL names such as Sooryavanshi, Mhatre and Sameer Rizvi, ensuring that high-potential players already exposed to top-level cricket are not left out of the red-ball pathway. “The India Emerging side will comprise of only U-25 players and they will also constitute India A teams for shadow tours also. The roadmap will be created keeping senior chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, head coach Gautam Gambhir in the loop,” a BCCI source told PTI.
Performance in the intra-CoE tournament will directly feed into selection for upcoming tours. Both the India U-19 and Emerging sides are scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka after the IPL for four-day matches, with squads expected to be picked based on these games.
“Once the IPL ends, India U-19 and Emerging (U-25) will both tour Sri Lanka for four-day games. The squad will be selected based on Intra-COE tournament performances.”
