India head coach Gautam Gambhir celebrated the New Year with his family in London. Gambhir, who is currently on a break from the Indian team, posted pictures with his family on Instagram. The former batsman is expected to link up with the Indian team just before the white-ball series against New Zealand starting on January 11.
India are all set to play a three-match ODI series which will then move into the T20I stage just ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. Team India will hope to continue their dominance at home in ODIs after the successful series against South Africa.
The series will also see the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who were successful against South Africa in December. They also played a few matches in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, marking a strong return to the home circuit.
This mini break before the New Zealand series is expected to be good for Gambhir. The head coach was heavily criticized for his approach in 2025 and his tactics and ideas were questioned across the Test, ODI and T20I formats.
While the Test team has been rocked in the recent past, things have been better on the ODI and T20I side. Gambhir, however, came under heavy criticism for the forced inclusion of Shubman Gill in the T20I squad, a mistake which was rectified by the selectors just before the T20 World Cup.
With Shubman Gill ruled out, the destructive opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are expected to return. The duo did incredible things in 2024-25. However, their partnership was broken by Gambhir to accommodate Gill in the opener.
The head coach will be hoping to build momentum towards the T20 World Cup 2026. India enter the tournament as favourites, and will be aiming to become the first team to defend the T20 World Cup title.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
January 1, 2026
