India put up yet another disappointing display in the T20 World Cup in Australia, crashing out in the semi-final stage at the hands of England. Their wait to win another ICC trophy continues, and will now have to wait for the 2023 50-over event at home to have a chance to end their drought, having won their last one in 2013. 

Many former players including Wasim Akram and Sunil Gavaskar have blamed the fact that the players prioritise the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the main reason for their underwhelming performances over the years, but former India batter Gauram Gambhir disagrees.

"IPL is the best thing that has happen to Indian cricket. I can say this with all my senses. There has been lot of backlash regarding IPL since it started. Every time Indian cricket does not do well, the blame comes at IPL, which is not fair. If we don't perform well in ICC tournaments, blame the players, blame the performance, but it is unfair to point fingers on the IPL," Gambhir said at the TURF2022 & India Sports Awards of FICCI.

The southpaw also praised the BCCI for having Indian coaches at the helm and calls such moves to also be made in the IPL.

"One good thing that has happen in Indian cricket is that Indians have started coaching the Indian National Cricket team now. I strongly believe Indian should coach the Indian team. All these foreign coaches, who we gave a lot of importance to, come here to make money and then they vanish," Gambhir said

"Emotions are important in sports. The only people who can be emotional about Indian cricket are the ones who have represented their country."

The cricketer-turned politician, Gambhir has played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is for India. He was part of the World Cup wining teams in 2007 and 2011, playing crucial knocks in the final in both those editions.