Yes, India are missing pace ace Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya - two players who have been vital to India's back-to-back T20 World Cup triumphs (2024 and 2026) - like Gambhir rightfully pointed out following the pasting in the third T20I against England in Nottingham. However, a vast majority of the members on the UK tour have been part of the national set-up for a while now, and 'transition' comes across as an easy excuse for his own failings as a coach and the team's inability to adapt to challenging conditions.

Fact check: nine from the touring party were part of the Indian team that created history in Ahmedabad this March when India became the first country to successfully defend the T20 World Cup trophy. While Pandya missed out due to injury and Bumrah was rested as part of workload management, skipper Suryakumar Yadav was dropped following a long run of poor scores.

Firstly, Gambhir. The Delhiite was appointed as coach in July 2024 amidst a lot of hype following his success with Kolkata Knight Riders - both as captain and mentor - but his results with the Indian team have been far from flattering. Often putting up a combative face during defeats to mask the mistakes, Gambhir has been found wanting tactically on several occasions.

His mantra of playing highly explosive cricket in T20Is works to a fault on flat subcontinent pitches, but on tracks that offer seam, swing and bounce, batters need to recalibrate their approach and style, which has been conspicuous by its absence in the UK.

Gambhir's management has often spoken about giving a longer rope to the players, especially those with match-winning capabilities, but in truth there has been more chopping and changing across formats in his regime.

Let's take Sanju Samson as the most recent example. Despite his heroic performances in the 2026 T20 World Cup where he won three consecutive Player of the Match awards, including the semifinal and final, the opener was dropped after the first T20I versus England following three failures and was axed from the Zimbabwe tour too. This hire-and-fire policy sends out the wrong message, especially when you're trying to rebuild a 'transitioning' team.

Indian batters, having lavished themselves on flat pitches at home for months on end, are now struggling to adjust to the challenging conditions in the UK. Both Ireland and England tested them with short balls, and most of them have failed that examination. Plus, the lateral movement and extra pace from the fast bowlers has exposed the chinks in their armour.

Most of the time, the batters have tried to hit themselves out of trouble rather than applying themselves initially and then pressing on the accelerator. The lack of Plan B in foreign conditions was apparent, and India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate put it bluntly on Thursday.

"Psychologically and mentally, the challenge for the group is to accept the fact that we are underachieving in foreign conditions and tell the players, 'Look, there is a big prize two years down the line in Australia,'" he said after the fourth T20I in Bristol.

"Do we want to be a team that smashes 250 in India and looks great hitting 80m sixes at Eden Gardens, or do you want to come to places like Manchester, Southampton, where things are slightly different, and further down the line, the MCG? That's the mental challenge, and that's what we need the players to take on," he added, referring to the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia.

The management pinned their faith on Shreyas to lead the Indian team based on his captaincy credentials with the KKR and Punjab Kings. Nothing wrong with that, but the issue is Shreyas himself has been in and out of the Indian team for various reasons. When he himself is standing on unsteady flooring, how is he going to steer the team over the next couple of years? Lots to ponder and rectify for the management.