"It's All Rubbish": Gautam Gambhir Fumes A Day After India's T20 World Cup Win. Reason: Team Atmosphere Talks

Gautam Gambhir now stands on a pedestal where no other Indian cricket coach has reached before. He now has two ICC titles as coach - the Champions Trophy 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2026. That, however, does not mean his tenure, which started after the 2024 T20 World Cup, has been without challenges. India lost Test series to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa during this period. India also lost ODI series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand during his tenure.

There have been murmurs about the team atmosphere too in the Indian dressing room. Gambhir's tenure saw some high-profile retirements as well. However, Gambhir straight batted all team atmosphere-related questions a day after India's T20 World Cup win.

"My philosophy is simple - if the majority of the team members are not happy with me, there is no point in me staying in that dressing room. If the majority is happy, I am doing the right job. If you report genuinely, you will know how the atmosphere of the team is. The Indian team's atmosphere can't stay hidden from anybody because there is so much scrutiny, limelight and media attention," the coach added in an interview with India Today.

"Yeh sab bekaar ki cheezein hain jab bola jaata hai ki team ka mahaul accha nahi hai (It's all rubbish when people say that the team atmosphere is not good). Neither I nor the captain has to say anything. If you follow us closely - from travelling to practice sessions to player interviews - you will know how the atmosphere of the side is."

Gambhir added that his selections were backed by trust.

"Look, you pick players based on trust and faith, not on hope. If you pick someone based on trust and faith, you cannot take that away after four or five matches. But if you pick someone only on hope, then you might lose that hope very quickly," Gambhir said.

"Whether it's Abhishek or any of the 15 players in that dressing room, we trust all of them. Whenever they get an opportunity at any stage of the competition, they will deliver for the team. The most important thing for this team was putting the team ahead of themselves."

Topics mentioned in this article

Gautam Gambhir India Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket