Gautam Gambhir has reacted to MS Dhoni’s viral remark after winning the T20 World Cup 2026 where the former Indian captain praised him for smiling. Gambhir explained why he keeps his cool in the trenches during matches.
Right after India won the T20 World Cup title, Dhoni broke his silence on social media and praised the team for their performance. He had a special message reserved for Gambhirhe said the smile suited him a lot and with the intensity he carried it was a killer combination. Speaking to ANI, the Indian coach thanked Dhoni for the comment but admitted that sometimes it is difficult to keep a smile on his face during an international match.
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Gambhir said losing in India was out of the question and that the weight of expectations made him a serious face in the sport.
“But that’s why, as a coach, I feel like sometimes it’s very difficult to be in a situation where people who are commenting have never really been in that position. But it’s good that he tweeted it, honestly. But I feel like when you’re sitting in the dugout, there’s so much at stake.”
“There are always huge expectations from the Indian team. Even if you want to laugh or smile – and of course everyone would like to – often you just can’t. Especially when you’re playing a tournament like the World Cup. Because in India, unfortunately, losing is not an option. That’s true, but it can still happen. If losing wasn’t an option, India would win every World Cup, but that’s NOT how it works,” Gambhir said.
‘NO REFUND GUARANTEE’
Gambhir said that sport is something where there is no guarantee of returns despite the amount of hard work that goes into reiterating why it was necessary to maintain a serious demeanour.
“This is sport. You invest your whole life in something, but there is no guarantee of return. It’s not like the stock market or the stock market, where you know what returns you will get from your investment. Here you work hard for a year and a half, invest everything and still have no guarantee that you will win the World Cup.”
“Just think about it – if we don’t win the World Cup or if we lose in the semi-final, the return would be basically zero, wouldn’t it? After putting in so much effort and such a huge investment. That’s why I say sports is very different from other professions,” Gambhir said.
Despite this, Gambhir said during the interaction that he can now afford to smile for the next few months after his T20 World Cup triumph.
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Published on:
March 11, 2026 11:55 AM IST
