Gambhir wants India to stay ahead in T20Is
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir feels the shortest format of the game keeps evolving, and it is important for the team to be ahead of the curve.
Former opening batter Gautam Gambhir took over as India's head coach after the team's successful T20 World Cup campaign in 2024.
Despite a mixed run in Tests, where the side struggled in the initial outings before showing positive signs subsequently, the Men in Blue have delivered remarkable performances under his tenure.
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India have been impressive in the shortest format since their 2024 title win, with 26 wins and four losses, including seven T20I series wins, with the latest being the T20I series win against Australia Down Under. These are encouraging performances ahead of their title defence, which is all set to take place at home.
In an interview available on bcci.tv, Gambhir marked out his strong belief in flexible batting lineups, an attribute that he believes is key to success in T20 cricket.
“That (fluid batting order) has been the ideology from day one when I took over as the head coach. From Sri Lanka till now, it hasn’t changed.”
“I think the batting orders are very overrated, except the openers obviously.
“Two openers are permanent, rest I think everything shuffles because it’s not the amount of runs that matter in T20I cricket, it’s the impact that matters.”
Explaining further, Gambhir stated that the side was looking to go beyond individual performances and focus on what mattered to the team as a whole.
“We don’t want to play the game thinking about averages and strike rates; we are thinking about how much impact a person can create in what situation.
“T20 cricket will evolve, and as coaches if we don’t evolve, we will be behind the eight ball, and we don’t want to be that.
“We want to be ahead of T20 cricket and that is what the young boys have adapted. Hopefully they continue to adapt and evolve in the future.
“It is high risk, high reward. We want this team to be fearless but at the same time being smart as well.”
Gambhir also spoke about India's all-round advantage, and how it gave them balance across conditions.
“We have got someone like Axar (Patel) and Washi (Washington Sundar) who can bat and bowl.
“They can get into the side purely as a batter as well, that’s how good they are as a batter.
“It is a great luxury to have, and I think they will play a very, very important role, come the World Cup. Not only the World Cup or the sub-continental conditions, but with the quality they have, they are going to flourish in most of conditions.
“But we are still not where we want to be in three months down the line (for the World Cup), hopefully we will be there.”