Following India’s 2-1 victory over Australia in the Twenty20 International series, head coach Gautam Gambhir stated that his team was not yet prepared for the T20 World Cup the following year. India has five T20I matches against South Africa and five more against New Zealand left until the World Cup in early 2026.
“After three months, we still haven’t reached our desired state. Because the World Cup, not just the series, is the greater picture. We are in the position we want to be before the World Cup, so maybe we will be there by then,” Gambhir told BCCI.TV.
In addition to outlining his goals for the team, Gambhir emphasized the need of fitness. We have discussed this with the boys as well. In terms of fitness, I believe we are still not where we want to be for the T20 World Cup in that regard. Our goal is to be incredibly sharp.
“We’d like to stay in shape. We wish to proceed more quickly. We wish to be more physically and psychologically fit because the more physically fit we are, the more mentally resilient we will be in stressful situations and games. Hopefully, males understand how important it is to be in shape. He stated, “There are still three months left for us to reach our desired destination.”
Additionally, India’s preference for mobility over steadiness in their batting order persisted throughout the series against Australia. “Look, that has been the guiding principle ever since. “Look,” Gambhir said, “that has been the philosophy from the beginning.”
Of course, there are always two openers. Since runs aren’t what matters in T20 cricket, I believe that everything else shuffles. The impact is what counts. The batting order, the runs, and the effect are occasionally miscalculated or not distinguished. As you can see, impacts and runs differ. Impact is everything in T20 cricket. It has 120 balls. Every ball is a happening. We must make every ball have the greatest possible impact.
“And that’s why I believe the batting order has been so flexible from the beginning. We wish to play this game in such manner. “We don’t want to play a game with averages, strike rates, and other such things in mind,” he continued.
Additionally, Gambhir described the idea behind Jasprit Bumrah bowling three overs in the PowerPlay and how it gives his team a competitive advantage.
“I believe that many people view our T20 team as an extremely aggressive batting lineup. One even more aggressive option with the ball, in my opinion, was to bowl Jasprit [Bumrah] for three overs in the opening six. Instead of being a team that is solely recognized for having an aggressive batting order, we would like to be recognized as an aggressive whole.
Since we typically win the powerplay when we bowl simply Bumrah in the first three, I believed that the Asia Cup had really worked well for us. With Varun and Kuldeep in the middle, we certainly have two alternatives for taking wickets. As a result, it provides players with significant leverage to bowl freely during the middle period. Additionally, we are always able to take wickets. It was also one of the causes. Therefore, it seemed to me that it was a really aggressive motion that involved both the bat and the ball. And that’s how we also want to play the game,” he stated.
Under Gambhir, Shivam Dube has seen some improvement as a bowler and has been trusted in a variety of roles. In the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, he was trusted with the new ball and performed admirably, giving up only 12 runs in the two PowerPlay overs he bowled. In the middle overs of the recent Australian tour, Dube took crucial wickets.
“The simplest thing to do is toss guys into the deep sea. We also used the same procedure with Shubman [Gill]. We had put him in a difficult situation when he was named Test captain for an England series. He established himself as a legitimate professional swimmer. The same was true for Shivam [Dube]. You must subject these individuals to tremendous pressure in order to observe their reactions and Shivam’s actions.
Imagine how different he would have been as a person and how much better he is under pressure if he hadn’t been plunged into that deep sea. Imagine striking 12 runs in the first and third overs of the Asia Cup final versus Pakistan. He must have felt so much more confident after those two overs. It’s possible that he has never had the ball in his hand before. People can sometimes emerge from those circumstances prospering.
It immediately struck me that Shivam had a lot to offer the squad from his perspective. Sometimes, you just mention that a guy can hit, that he can be helpful against a certain bowler, or that he can use the bat to open up the game. The key, in my opinion, is to give him confidence as well. “I think someone who’s six foot tall, who can bowl at a decent pace, who has bounce, and who has different variations,” Gambhir added.
The freedom Abhishek Sharma bats has been credited with his crucial contributions at the top of the order.
Gambhir said that the team as a whole has been given the same freedom to play as Abshishek.
Abhishek isn’t the only one. I believe we have granted everyone freedom. Since Abhishek’s approach fits that type of play, I believe it would be dishonest of me as head coach to solely discuss granting him freedom. But in my opinion, everyone should have freedom. High risk equals high reward. At the end of the day, you will never reap the big rewards if you do not try. All fifteen of the individuals in the dressing room are free to express themselves without fear of making a mistake.
My belief has always been that the more you think about making a mistake and fear making one, the more mistakes you will make. Making a catch is acceptable. It’s acceptable to bowl a poor ball. A lousy shot is acceptable. Errors are inevitable for humans. Furthermore, we will allow them to fail. Additionally, we will allow them to make mistakes. “Because the more we tell them not to make mistakes, the more mistakes they will make,” Gambhir said.
Speaking with players who weren’t included in the starting lineup was, according to Gambhir, the most difficult aspect of his role as coach. Players like Kuldeep Yadav and Arshdeep Singh have been forced to sit out due to a strong bench and plenty of options, forcing the squad to take a horses-for-courses stance.
“My hardest job is the one. In the end, you can only choose the starting lineup based on which combination is the most effective for the task at hand. I am aware that there are many talented players on the bench and that everyone deserves to be in the starting lineup.
But in my opinion, the dialogue and communication are what matter most. The conversation must be extremely honest and transparent. Naturally, those are difficult conversations to have at times.
“Telling someone that he isn’t playing is probably the hardest thing for both a coach and a player because I know that the player would be angry when he deserves to be in the starting lineup. However, if you’re clear, honest, and aware that what you’re saying is coming straight from the heart, then I think some players do understand. Additionally, a coach and a player are communicating,” Gambhir stated.
India
