The dust had barely settled on India’s historic victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup, making them the first team to successfully defend the title, before the familiar, rhythmic drumbeat of dissent began. It is a peculiar custom of cricket commentary that the moment India achieve total dominance in the game’s most volatile format, the sticks unceremoniously move.
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Leading the attack was Sanjay Manjrekar, whose recent criticism on social media came as a cold shower to the celebrating nation.
“Over time, we have to put these world titles that are awarded every year in the right perspective,” Manjrekar said.
“India’s T20 World Cup wins don’t even come close to their 50 World Cup victories in 1983 under Kapil Dev and 2011 under Dhoni in terms of the sheer challenge and sanctity of it.”
This sentiment was echoed in the more venomous corners of the internet. One user on X mocked India’s pursuit of global titles by comparing T20 trophies to fast food prizes picked up every two years at a drive-thru, dismissing them as achievements that count for very little.
It’s a narrative that reeks of a stunning lack of perspective, cloaked in a thin veil of purism. Describe a World Cup victory achieved under the greatest pressureThe highly variable conditions that the sport is known for trivializing are not just an insult to the Indian side. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of where cricket stands in 2026.
THE ODI WORLD CUPS MYTH
For decades, the 50-over ODI World Cup has been presented as the ultimate pinnacle. Its four-year cycle is often considered the main indicator of prestige. Yet the modern tournament increasingly resembles a closed shop, a closed community of ten teams. It’s a marathon format that tolerates off days and slow starts, where established powers are often almost guaranteed a path to the knockouts. India lost the ODI World Cup 2023 final to Australia. (Photo by Reuters)
Compare that to the T20 World Cup. Twenty teams are now participating in the tournament. It is the only format in which the word world has a truly literal meaning at the World Cup. Here, emerging parties such as the United States, Italy, Nepal and Namibia experience meaningful international competition.
In a 50-over-50 competition, the gap in class can grow relentlessly over the course of eight hours. In T20 cricket, that gap narrows to the width of one inspired over.
If the World Cup is judged on inclusiveness and global footprint, the T20 tournament definitely wins. Navigating a field of twenty teams without slipping is not just luck, it requires sustained mental precision. The argument that success is somehow easier because the event happens more often ignores a central truth of the format. There is no settlement in T20 cricket. Every ball is a crisis. India have now won the T20 World Cup titles. (Photo: Reuters, PTI)
ENGINE ROOM
Behind the trophies lies an economic reality. T20 cricket has become the major financial engine of the sport. It provides the revenue that sustains Test matches and ODI tours.
The numbers reflect modern times. As of November 2023, leading cricket nations have played almost twice as many T20 internationals as ODIs. The format is not an aside or convenience. She became the main scene. It appeals to the digital native generation, fits into the rhythm of contemporary life and pushes the boundaries of athletic skills.
In other sports, frequency does not reduce prestige. Tennis fans do not take the four Grand Slam tournaments lightly just because they are held annually. Even the followers of chess do not reject the world title, because it lacks a four-year cycle. In athletics or badminton, the regularity of major events only shows who can remain the best in an ever-evolving field. Cricket should not be the only exception.
THE INDIAN REVOLUTION
Perhaps the most unfair aspect of the dismissive narrative is how it overlooks the real tactical transformation in Indian cricket. The journey from an 11-year ICC trophy drought to the current era of dominance began with a massive reset led by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid in 2024.
Where many expected a difficult transition, the next phase led by Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav took India into a higher gear. The team has deliberately shed its fear of failure and its long-term fixation on personal milestones, habits that once limited Indian lineups. The Gambhir-Suryakumar coach-captain combination has made India a T20I powerhouse. (Photo: PTI)
Gambhir’s philosophy is blunt and uncompromising. The emphasis is not on the name on the back of the jersey, but on the badge on the front. The team is looking for players willing to produce a 20-ball fifty rather than a cautious 50-ball seventy.
This culture of selflessness was promoted by Suryakumar Yadav who seems to have given his fellows the freedom to express themselves without fear of failure in the middle. After defeating New Zealand in the final on Sunday, he highlighted their ‘intent above all else’ and urged the players to remain brave in difficult times. Valuing above-average impact, India have mastered the mathematics of the 20-over match in a way no team has done before.
The numbers don’t lie. India have crossed 250 six times in the last two years, while no other team has managed to do so more than three times. Two of those 250-plus totals came in the semi-final and final of the World Cup as India approached the ICC’s toughest knockout matches with the same attacking mindset it brings to bilateral series. That shift in mentality deserves strong praise.
DOUBLE STANDARD?
When Ricky Ponting led Australia’s era of dominance in the early 2000s, the cricketing world marveled. Their sustained success was considered the gold standard of sporting excellence.
Yet as India begins to exert a similar influence on the T20 format, the tone among some Western critics and even a few domestic voices has shifted towards weariness. The format is suddenly described as fickle and the trophies too frequent.
Why has Australia’s dominance been hailed as a triumph of system and culture, while India’s dominance is seen as a weakening of the sport? There is a growing sense of India fatigue among pundits who find it easier to shrink the trophy than admit that India have cracked the code of the game’s most volatile format.
Australia’s ODI greatness was created against nine other teams. India’s T20 success requires overcoming the performance of nineteen nations in a high-intensity, high-variability environment. To call one meaningful and the other embarrassing is to ignore the reality of modern cricket.
The T20 World Cup is not a watered down version of cricket. It is the most democratic, challenging and globally relevant format that sport currently offers. It’s a stage where the world really competes.
Manjrekar and social media traditionalists are entitled to their nostalgia. They can cling to their sepia-tinted memories of cricket past fifty. Still, the sport moved forward. T20 World Cup victories in India are not consolation prizes, they are the hard-won rewards of a team that has reshaped the game.
The T20 crown deserves respect. Heavy is the head that carries it, no matter how often it is bestowed.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
12 March 2026 10:24 IST
