India head coach Gautam Gambhir drew on his own painful experience of four consecutive low scores in IPL 2014 to help Abhishek Sharma rediscover his confidence during the T20 World Cup, the coach revealed in an interview with Jio Star.
Abhishek endured a tough start to the tournament, he registered three ducks in his first three innings. He recovered to score two half-centuries in the back half of the competition, including one in the final as India beat New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium to lift their third T20 World Cup title.
Read the full article
“I have a worse experience than him 2014 during the IPLwhen I got three ducks in a row and then another in the fourth game as well,” Gambhir said. “All I told him was that people will look at your scores and talk about your form, but you’re not really out of form, you’re just out of runs.
Supporting intent beyond numbers
Gambhir told Abhishek that form can only be judged after a batsman has spent meaningful time in the middle. “You can only judge your form when you have bowled 20-30 balls in the middle and he hasn’t even faced 20 balls yet,” he said. “All I wanted from him was to go out there in the next game and be even more aggressive compared to what he was in the previous game.
In an earlier interview with AajTak, Gambhir said that the team’s selection philosophy was built on trust rather than short-term results. “Look, you pick players based on trust and belief, not hope. If you pick someone based on trust and belief, you can’t take it after four or five games,” he said. “Whether it is Abhishek or any of the 15 players in that dressing room, we believe in all of them.
Gambhir’s own horror start in 2014
The personal experience Gambhir mentioned was sobering. In IPL 2014, opening the match for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2014, he scored three consecutive ducks before managing just one in his fourth game as his team lost four of their first five matches. He finished the tournament with 335 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.33 and a strike rate of 114.33, including three half-centuries.
It was that turn, Gambhir suggested, that convinced him to back Abhishek when others questioned the opener’s place in the side. “There was no doubt about Abhishek,” he said. “In that dressing room, we always had faith and trust in anyone who was selected to represent the country in the T20 World Cup.
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
15 March 2026 16:49 IST
