Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has spoken out strongly about the team’s recent T20I series defeats to Ireland and England. Notably, Shreyas Iyer has started his T20I captaincy on a sour note, losing two consecutive series overseas.
Speaking to JioStar, head coach Gambhir asserted that the Indian team took only 17 months to win its third T20 World Cup, adding that one or two bad series here and there will not make the team a bad one.
“For two years, imagine, we won the World Cup. Which team in the history of sport has gone undefeated from one World Cup to the next and gone on to win the World Cup? It didn’t take these guys 17 years to win a second World Cup. It took them only 17 months to win a third World Cup. Suddenly, one bad series or three bad games here and there do not make them bad players or make us a bad side,” Gambhir told JioStar.
Further, Gambhir admitted that there will always be ups and downs in the responsibility he has taken up. Notably, Gambhir took over the head coach role from Rahul Dravid after the completion of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign.
Under Gambhir, India suffered badly in Tests, losing two home series to New Zealand and South Africa. Further, India failed to qualify for the WTC Final for the first time last year. However, Gambhir has a strong white-ball record, winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2026.
“I think I’ve had my own share of ups and downs; I think I’ve had my own failures and successes. But again, I’ve always believed that when you take up that kind of responsibility, there will always be ups and downs,” he added.
