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The India National Cricket Team is in Japan for the Asian Games 2026. They will start their campaign in a few days with the tournament quarter-final. However, the ODI setup, alongside head coach Gautam Gambhir, is in India for the upcoming West Indies series. Amid this, India's head coach opened up about T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer’s qualities.
Shreyas Iyer had a start-stop beginning to his captaincy; he lost his first two series as captain and then came back strong, winning the next two in dominating fashion. He has been captaining the side for the very first time in the Asian Games and would look to defend their gold medal in the multi-national event.
"Shreyas has that quality": Gautam Gambhir praises Shreyas Iyer
While speaking on Jio Star, Gautam Gambhir praised Shreyas Iyer, recalling their first meeting at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when the former was the mentor, and Iyer was the captain. Gambhir said the best thing he liked about Iyer was his selfless attitude, highlighting his willingness to move away from his preferred No. 4 position for the team’s benefit.
Gauti said (as quoted by NDTV), "Look, my first experience with Shreyas was when I went to KKR in 2024. Obviously, he was captaining the side, and the best thing I liked about Shreyas was that he was willing, at times, to leave his position as well at No. 4."
"That is when I realised that the first and foremost quality of a good leader, and I'm not going to talk about captaincy, is how selfless you are. Shreyas has that quality."
Gautam Gambhir reveals Shreyas Iyer's biggest quality
The duo went on to win the third title for KKR, as Gambhir further said it was the biggest quality that Shreyas Iyer has and can carry for the rest of his life, as he had no problems if someone went ahead of him as per the situation. As per the head coach, it is a rare occasion that a captain sacrifices his position.
"That probably was the biggest tick that Shreyas can carry for the rest of his journey as a captain. He was so flexible that he was okay if someone went ahead of him. It happens very rarely that a captain, who is probably your main batter as well, sacrifices his position for the team's cause, whether for someone else's impact or from a left-hand-right-hand combination point of view. He is willing to sacrifice his position."
"He has actually ticked all the boxes": Gautam Gambhir on Shubman Gill
Further, Gambhir spoke about Shubman Gill, as he has been doing a good job as a young captain and taking some tough decisions. He has been ticking all the boxes but has had a tough time in ODI cricket, but the head coach believes that Gill will be able to turn things around.
"Leaving out anyone in Indian cricket from the playing eleven is always going to be tough. But when you have to do that as a young captain, it is probably the toughest job for any coach and captain to do it. So far, he has done that. He has actually ticked all the boxes," said Gambhir on Gill (via India Today).
"I feel that he has done all the right things. He has had a bit of a tough time in One Day cricket. But I am sure things will turn around because he has done all the right things."
