Guwahati: Under-fire India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday said it was up to the BCCI to decide his future after the Test series whitewash against South Africa but also reminded everyone of the success the team has achieved in his eventful tenure.

Gambhir was speaking after the humiliating 408-run drubbing at the hands of South Africa in the second Test here on Wednesday, which gave the visitors a 2-0 series sweep.

“It is up to the BCCI to decide. I’ve said it in my first press conference when I took over as the head coach. Indian cricket is important, I’m not important. And I sit here and say exactly the same thing,” Gambhir was terse as usual at the post-match press conference.

“And yes, people can keep forgetting about it. I’m the same guy who got results in England as well, with a young team. And I’m sure you guys will forget very soon, because a lot of people keep talking about New Zealand (home series whitewash last year). And I’m the same guy who won the Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup as well,” Gambhir reminded.

The combative response to the question on his future aside, Gambhir said he would not try to dodge the blame for the debacle against a very well-prepared South Africa.

“The blame lies with everyone and starts with me,” he conceded in his first reactions after the 0-2 drubbing.

“We need to play better. From 95/1 to 122/7 is not acceptable. You don’t blame any individual or any particular shot. Blame lies with everyone. I never blamed individuals and won’t do it going forward,” he added.

Under Gambhir, India have lost 10 of their 18 Tests, including whitewashes against New Zealand last year and South Africa now at home.

Gambhir has also attracted criticism for frequent changes in the team and his inclination to focus on all-rounders at the expense of specialists in the traditional format.

He insisted that in Test cricket, a man with limited talent but tough mindset can trump prodigal talent on any given day.

“Red ball cricket is a completely different challenge to white ball cricket. There needs to be a different skill set. And more importantly, there need to be tough characters that are important to be a successful Test side,” the former southpaw said.

“You don’t need the most skillful and the most flamboyant players to succeed in Test cricket. You need the toughest characters with limited skills who will go on to succeed in Test cricket, irrespective of how the conditions and what the situation is,” Gambhir said.

‘We are going through transition’

The new crop of players in the Test set-up have been found wanting against the turning deliveries on a difficult track and that can happen when the team’s core batting line-up has played less than 15 five-day matches on average.

Asked why India hasn’t done well against quality spin attacks on slightly challenging tracks since the series against New Zealand, Gambhir insisted the team’s core composition, which featured Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, was different at that time.

“Look, first of all, the series against New Zealand, we had a very different side,” one could gauge where this was going.

“And this is a very different side. I’m sure you guys cover a lot of cricket, and I’m sure when you see this batting line-up, the experience of that batting line-up, compared to what this team has is chalk and cheese.

“So comparing everything to New Zealand is probably a wrong narrative,” he was slightly agitated as he answered.

And then he went on to cite the inexperience of the current line-up.

“I don’t give excuses. I’ve never done that in the past. I will never do it in the future as well. But four or five batters in this top eight have literally played less than 15 Tests, and they will grow. They are learning on the job and on the field,” he said.

“Test cricket is never easy when you’re playing against a top-quality side. So you’ve got to give them time as well. So, for me, I think that is something they’ll keep learning. Hopefully, they keep learning. That is important.”

Transition is a word that he “hates” but acknowledged that this is exactly what the side is going through right now.

“They need time to keep getting better against quality attacks and against quality sides. Yes, this is a team which has less experience and I’ve said it before as well, they need to keep learning and they’re putting everything possible to turn the tide,” he said.