Indian coach Gautam Gambhir has emphasised that there is yet much work to do after India lifted the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Sunday, March 8, in a thrilling
final against New Zealand.
India’s dominance in ICC tournaments continues further, with 31 wins in 34 matches since the start of the 2023 ODI World Cup. They have only lost two matches in this span. The Delhi batter took over after Rahul Dravid led India to glory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and since then, India have lifted the 2025 Champions Trophy and now the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Gambhir was reluctant to group this victory with the ODI setup, downplaying the mentions of this being “India’s era” in white-ball cricket.
"I won't talk about white ball cricket as a whole, because in white ball cricket, we have lost two of the previous three series in the ODI format.
If it was our era, we wouldn't lose those two series. ICC, yes, that's a completely different ballgame. The pressure is different. I don't believe in eras. You have to turn up every day. When you're playing a match or for your country, you want to win every game," he explained.
Gambhir spoke of the privilege of being able to represent the country, even in a bilateral game. It is not something to be taken for granted according to the Indian coach.
"There's no if or but, or any such thing as bilateral, ICC trophy, World Cup. There is a lot of privilege for those in the dressing room who get to represent the country. There are lakhs of kids who want to be here. Thousands who want to be in my position, lakhs who would want to be where Surya is and with the boys in the dressing room.
We can never take anything for granted when we wear this jersey. I can't differentiate between bilaterals and ICC at all," he concluded.
India’s focus in ICC tournaments now shifts to the 2027 ODI World Cup, co-hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. They have lost two of their last three ODI series, away to Australia and at home against New Zealand. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the twilight of their career, and fresh blood knocking on the door, India’s coach finds himself with work to do.
