After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s last dance in Australia, Team India shifts its focus to T20Is with a 5-match series, which begins from October 29 in Canberra. The upcoming fixtures will allow India to access
their strength for the much-awaited T20 World Cup at home next year.
As the men in blue begin preparations for the first T20I on Wednesday, head coach Gautam Gambhir talked about his leadership philosophy and partnership with captain Suryakumar Yadav.
“Surya is a great human being, and good humans make good leaders. While he speaks highly of me, my role is simply to advise him fairly based on my reading of the game. Ultimately, this is his team. His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket’s essence, it’s about freedom and expression. Your off-field personality reflects on the field and in the dressing room, and Surya has maintained this atmosphere brilliantly over the past 1.5 years,” Gambhir told JioStar.
“From our first conversation, we agreed: we will not fear losing. I don’t aim to be the most successful coach; I want us to be the most fearless team. In big games like the Asia Cup final, I told the players it’s okay to drop a catch, play a bad shot, or bowl a poor delivery. Human beings make mistakes. Only the opinions of those in the dressing room matter. Surya and I consistently agree: we will never fear mistakes. The bigger the game, the more fearless and aggressive we must be. A conservative approach only gives the opposition an advantage. With the talent we have, if we play fearlessly, we will be fine,” he added.
Though India have been a reckoning force in the T20Is lately, the skipper, Suryakumar, has been under the pump for his performance. However, Gambhir said he isn’t concerned about the captain’s form as they are committed to an ‘ultra-aggressive template’ in the dressing room.
“Honestly, Surya’s batting form doesn’t concern me,” Gambhir said.
“We have committed to an ultra-aggressive template in our dressing room. It would be easy for Surya to score 40 runs off 30 balls and avoid criticism, but we have collectively decided that it’s acceptable to fail while pursuing this approach. Currently, Abhishek Sharma is in good form and has maintained it throughout the Asia Cup.”
“When Surya finds his rhythm, he will shoulder the responsibility accordingly. In T20 cricket, our focus isn’t on individual runs but on the brand of cricket we want to play. With our aggressive style, batters may fail more often, but impact ultimately matters more than mere runs,” he added.
