T20 World Cup Final: Will Ahmedabad mute Gautam Gambhir's critics?

The undisputed boss of Indian cricket is once again on the cusp of proving his detractors wrong by leading his team to the final of the T20 World Cup 2026. The men in blue will be playing in their second consecutive final of the tournament and have a chance to become the first team to defend the title and also lift the coveted trophy on home soil.

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All this happened under the leadership of the man who is often portrayed as the ‘bad man’ of Indian cricket – Gautam Gambhir. India’s head coach faced considerable criticism more recently for the team’s poor performances in Test cricket and for some of its team selections.

All this happened under the leadership of the man who is often portrayed as the ‘bad man’ of Indian cricket – Gautam Gambhir. India’s head coach has faced considerable criticism of late for the team’s poor performances in Test cricket and some of his team selections.

Under his leadership, India play a fearsome brand of cricket in which scoring 250 in T20Is is almost routine. Since the inception of T20 internationals, India have scored 200 or more on 49 occasions, 15 of which have come in the last 20 months. During the same period, India crossed the 250-run mark five times and also posted their highest total of 297.

Building a new team identity

During Gambhir’s tenure, the average strike rate of Indian batsmen was 158.09 — the highest among all-rounders. The head coach has not only carried over the philosophy of aggressive intent introduced during Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, but has taken it a few notches higher.

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav spoke about Gambhir’s influence on the team ahead of the final, highlighting how the coach removed the emphasis on personal milestones and shifted the focus solely to collective success.

“The main thing is that they have removed the idea of personal milestones from the team. Nobody is focused on individual records. It is a team game. Nothing is more important than the team’s target. If someone wants to hit a six off the first ball, they should do it. And if someone wants to approach the innings differently, that is also fine. That is the philosophy of this team before the final,” Suryakumar said during the pre-match press conference.

Gambhir’s influence is evident not only in the batting prowess of the team but also in the support he has given to the players he trusts. Soon after he took over, Gambhir brought Varun Chakravarthy back into the T20I line-upand the wrist-spinner responded by topping the bowling charts for the year.

Support players through criticism

Since his return to the format, Chakravarthy has been the leading wicket-taker among the full nations, taking an impressive 70 wickets in 36 innings at an average of 14.88. After his success in the T20Is, Chakravarthy was called up out of the blue in the ODI squad ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025, where he played a key role in India’s triumph.

Gambhir also faced criticism for consistently supporting fast bowler Harshit Rana. However, the youngster gradually established himself in ODI cricket, taking 26 wickets in just 14 matches. Rana could prove particularly useful on South Africa’s fast and tenacious pitches during the 2027 ODI World Cup, especially as age begins to catch up with Mohammed Shami.

Another area where Gambhir has drawn criticism is his apparent preference for all-rounders over specialist players. As a result, players like Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav found themselves on the bench more often than expected. Will Kuldeep Yadav play in the T20 World Cup 2026 final. (Image: AP)

Three all-rounders – Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube – have featured regularly in India’s XI during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. This strategy has not only provided flexibility in both batting and bowling but has also added valuable depth to the batting order, helping the team keep pace with the demands of modern T20 cricket.

Crazy methods that get results

Another issue that Gambhir has been criticized for is his insistence on maintaining a left-right combination throughout the batting line-up. The team strayed from this approach briefly at the start of the tournament when Ishan Kishan opened alongside Abhishek Sharma.

However, the opposing teams quickly countered by deploying the off-spinner early against the two left-handers and both batsmen were repeatedly trapped. The team eventually returned to open with Sanju Samson and the results were there for all to see. While Samson’s return may have been driven by necessity rather than careful planning, it was still consistent with the head coach’s larger philosophy. Sanju Samson’s comeback demoted Ishan Kishan to No.3 (Image: PTI)

With fans often criticizing Gambhir’s methods only to praise them once they prove successful, the Indian head coach probably deserves a lot more credit than he currently gets. While he is often called out for the team’s disappointing performances in domestic Tests, he also deserves equal credit for leading India to back-to-back ICC finals and giving them a chance to win both.

Ahmedabad is awaiting a final verdict on Gambhir

As India prepare to kick off in Ahmedabad for the grand final, the spotlight will inevitably fall on Gambhir and the bold philosophy he has implemented since taking charge. The head coach has never been one to shy away from criticism, and his tenure has been marked by several decisions that initially raised eyebrows. Yet those decisions have yielded results time and time again, reinforcing his faith in player support and confidence in the long-term vision.

A win in the final would not only allow India to defend their T20 World Cup title but also serve as a strong statement about the direction the team is heading. More importantly, it would validate Gambhir’s methods, his preference for multi-dimensional players and his unwavering commitment to a fearless approach. For a team that has often been accused of playing high-pressure tournaments for sure in the past, the current Indian side appears liberated and unapologetically bold.

Whether the trophy ends up in the Indian cabinet or not, Gambhir’s impact on the team is already evident. However, lifting the title in front of a home crowd in Ahmedabad would provide the ultimate answer to his critics – turning the buzz around his methods into applause and firmly cementing his place as one of the most impressive architects of India’s modern success with the white ball.

So, Ahmedabad will have to once again become a damper in the grand final but this time for the good of Indian cricket and their head coach.

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

March 8, 2026 10:15 AM IST