Four defeats later, Gautam Gambhir’s ‘transition’ story returns.

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir New Delhi: On 8 March, India made history by becoming the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title. Exactly four months and four defeats later, the Indian cricket team under new captain Shreyas Iyer has found itself in uncharted territory, losing four of its last five matches and yet to open an account in the new cycle. The conditions certainly came as a rude shock to the players who had been cruising the batting surfaces for two months in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and during the domestic series that preceded the cash-rich league.Bowlers had a hard time adapting to the wind and the dimensions. Overall, the world champions significantly outplayed both Ireland and England. The team selection was questionable, the batting order was debatable and the side looked completely at sea away from home. For a team that “didn’t want to be a 160-170 outfit” and making 200-plus totals the new normal, the biggest defeat in the format was a reality check. India were beaten by 125 runs on Tuesday. It is the first time the Men in Blue have gone winless in five consecutive T20Is and the road ahead offers little hope.

When you go to that reset, it takes a little time. If you see, the 15-year-old is opening, Prince Yadav is in his second T20I, Harshit Rana is coming back from injury.Gautam Gambhir | Head coach

If head coach Gautam Gambhir is to be believed, India have hit the ‘reset’ button on the format as several players who featured in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad against New Zealand are no longer part of the squad. Jasprit Bumrah is rested, Hardik Pandya is injured, Suryakumar Yadav is out and Sanju Samson is missing from the Playing XI.“When you go for that reset, it takes a while. If you see a 15-year-old opening, Prince Yadav is in his second T20I, Harshit Rana is coming back from injury. At the end of the day, we just look at results and results are important in international cricket, no doubt, but we also have to be practical. Sometimes you give players time to develop. If you give players time to develop, you have time to develop in England against players. England is so good for players. Because after things take time to reset,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.

Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir (X-BCCI)

The undertones of transition are back, this time in a format that India has completely dominated since winning the title in 2024. This is increasingly becoming the pattern in a head coach’s interactions with the media, but the use of the transition narrative seems to depend on the outcome of the series. Right after being whitewashed in the Test series against South Africa at home, Gambhir spoke at length about the team undergoing transformation in both departments and urged his inexperienced players to be patient.“Don’t think something like this ever happens in Indian cricket where there is a transition in the spin-bowling department and also in the batting department. Normally when your batting is safe or your batting is experienced, then your team goes through a bowling transition. But with this Test team, of course, there is a transition in both skill sets,” Gambhir told reporters in Guwahati.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir (PTI Photo)

Months before that statement in Guwahati, Gambhir was in the hot seat a thousand miles away in Manchester and the ‘T’ word came up again. The setup was very different from the second Test against South Africa as India, despite an injured Rishabh Pant, managed to draw the match and keep the series alive. Back then, the transition had a different meaning.“I don’t believe the team is in transition because it’s still an Indian team. And this is the best 18 that will represent India. More importantly, it’s not transition, it’s just a bit of inexperience,” Gambhir said when asked about the transition to the Test side.Transition became a buzzword during Gambhir’s tenure as the team witnessed significant movement across formats. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin are no longer playing Test cricket. Rohit Sharma has been replaced by Shubman Gill as the ODI captain. Suryakumar Yadav was dropped as T20I captain months after leading India to the T20 World Cup title. The team moved on relentlessly, taking on bold challenges, but the ‘T’ word remained the only constant.Its use, explanation and interpretation were heavily influenced by the situation of the match or series. Although it was replaced by “reset” in Nottingham on Tuesday, the underlying sentiment remained the same.