Follow UsBeing fearless is what matters to Gautam Gambhir, and while pursuing that pure form of playing without fear, if batters fail to sometimes get runs consistently, he is ready to give them the leeway, like he did with his T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Speaking ahead of the start of the five-match T20I series against Australia, Gambhir, in a chat with JioHotstar, said, “Honestly, Surya’s batting form doesn’t concern me because we have committed to an ultra-aggressive template in our dressing room. When you embrace this philosophy, failures are inevitable.”
“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,” he added.
Outlining the thought process of the Indian T20 unit, the head coach said, “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.”
Praising Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, a modest Gambhir said that his job as a coach was only to advise, and ultimately it was the captain’s team.
“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,” said the 44-year-old.
“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,” he added.
After winning the Asia Cup, Suryakumar and Gambhir will both be focused on winning the series in Australia and keeping the wins coming ahead of their T20 World Cup title defence in 2026.