India staged an incredible comeback in the fifth and final Test against England at the Oval on August 4, 2025 to draw the five match series 2-2.
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to edge England by six runs in the final Test and earn a creditable draw, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
A look at the five key areas of concerns for the Indian Test team:
Need experience at No. 3
The crucial No. 3 slot continues to be a concern for India.
In England, the batters struggled to make an impact at No. 3 -- a position held in the past Indian teams by greats Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara.
During the series, India rotated young Sai Sudharsan and the experienced Karun Nair at No. 3 as both struggled to carry on after getting off to starts on good pitches for batters.
In six innings at No. 3, Sudharsan made 140 runs at an average of 23.33 with just one fifty, while Karun scored 111 in four innings at 27.75 at that position without a single fifty.
It remains to be seen if India persist with Sudharsan or Karun with the next two series scheduled to be played at home.
Lack of bench strength in batting
The sudden retirements of seniors Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has exposed the lack of bench strength in the batting.
The experienced Shreyas Iyer is in the reckoning to make a comeback to the Indian team after the below-par showing by Sudharsan and Karun in England.
Shreyas was unlucky not to be picked for the Test series in England but the selectors could go back to him for the back to back home series against the West Indies and South Africa later this year.
The Mumbai right-hander's previous Test appearance came in the home series against England in February last year.
The 30 year old, who hit a century on his Test debut, lost his place in the Test team after a string of low scores.
Since the home series against Australia in February 2023, he was unable to score a single fifty in 11 innings in Test cricket.
But after a good showing in the Ranji Trophy and in the IPL, Shreyas is firmly in the mix for a Test comeback.
The messy Bumrah affair
The way Jasprit Bumrah workload situation was handled off the field turned out to be a big embarrassment for the BCCI and the Indian team management.
Bumrah was always scheduled to play three Tests in England on the advice of the BCCI medical team to manage his workload.
However, after Bumrah picked up a five-wicket haul in the Leeds and Lord's Test there was a clamour that the pacer should play in the last two Tests, with India trailing 1-2.
He played in the fourth Test in Manchester in which he took 2/112 before he was rested for the must win final Test at The Oval.
The Indian team management also didn't help their cause with their lack on clarity on their pace spearhead going in the fifth Test.
Batting Coach Sitanshu Kotak said at his media conference in London two days before the Oval Test that Bumrah is 'fit as per his load'.
'He has bowled one inning in the last match. So that obviously head coach, our physio and captain they will have a discussion and decide. There has been no discussion,' he said.
In the end, it was unfair that Bumrah was subject to criticism from some quarters for no fault of his.
Lack of depth in pace department
The Bumrah saga also exposed a big weakness in India's bench strength in their pace attack.
While Mohammed Siraj bowled his heart out in all five Tests, he got some good support from Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep, but beyond that India looked short of options in the pace department.
Anshul Kamboj, a surprise inclusion in the fourth Test, looked completely out of place as he struggled with his pace, while the team management didn't trust Arshdeep Singh enough to give him a go in any of the five Tests.
Lack of a seam bowling all-rounder
The lack of a seam bowling all-rounder didn't help India's cause in England.
India tried both Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy, but both made limited impact on the flat pitches in England.
Shardul, a frontline bowler for Mumbai in domestic cricket, bowled just 27 overs in the two Tests he played in which he bagged two wickets, while Reddy managed just three wickets.
The lack of runs from the two all-rounders also didn't help their cause as they were left out of the final Test at the Oval.
Clearly, the need of the hour is to unearth a pace bowling all-rounder on the lines of Ben Stokes, who despite coming back from an injury, was England's second highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets from four Tests.
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