Gautam Gambhir ready to bat in T20 World Cup 2026 final, claims Suryakumar Yadav
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Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has revealed the World Cup-winning mantra passed on to him by Head coach Gautam Gambhir, who has been part of several victorious ICC campaigns for India and has always played a special part in it.
Gautam Gambhir has been widely known for the unusual strategies that he has implemented from time to time ever since he was appointed the Head Coach of the India National Cricket Team. He has always been nonchalant about individual glory in the game of cricket and has upheld team spirit above all.
Gautam Gambhir was part of two of India's most famous World Cup wins as a player back in 2007 and in 2011, in the T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup, respectively. On both of these occasions, the left-handed cricketer played two very special match-winning knocks. Truly, Gambhir was a man of big matches for India.
Suryakumar Yadav sheds light on Gautam Gambhir's dressing room mantra
India captain Suryakumar Yadav has revealed how every player in that Indian dressing room has stayed focused on the team's glory and have kept aside their individual milestones. He then went on to explain coach Gautam Gambhir's tremendous role in changing the dynamics of the dressing room.
Gautam Gambhir has not believed that only one or two players can ever win matches for any team ever since he was a player. He has now incorporated the same belief into the Indian dressing room, where every small contribution matters.
His famous remark of 'ek chakke ne match nahi jitaya,' made on the ABP News network in 2021, was also a reflection of how much the team's spirit was valued the most by Gambhir. Suryakumar revealed that after Sanju Samson's iconic knock against the West Indies, Gautam Gambhir was the first to recognize Shivam Dube's two boundaries in the penultimate over as the one that helped India walk past the target comfortably.
"Unka (Gautam Gambhir) bas chale, toh wo he pad pehen ke aa jaye" - Suryakumar Yadav
During the conversation, the Indian captain was repeatedly asked about what sort of conversations the head coach was having ahead of the vital clash in the finale, or whether he had passed him some special mantra for the big day.
Answering the question, the captain said, “Unka (Gautam Gambhir) bas chale, toh wo he pad pehen ke aa jaye (If he gets his way, then he would himself come out to bat). He has played in World Cups before and helped the team win.
"His mantra has always been to take contributions from every player. Cricket is one sport where one or two players cannot help you win the trophy. In every game, all of our players contributed. In the semi-final, that was the case. In a team sport, every batter needs to click for a complete performance.”
He further continued that Gambhir has removed the idea of personal milestones and has set an example that even the smallest of useful contributions will be acknowledged if you win it for your team. He cited the example of Tilak Varma's 7-ball 21 in the semi-final and claimed that it is as important as a fifty or a century.
"These are the things he focuses on. Whatever is important to the team, we do. These things spread positivity within the camp; if you leave yourself aside, then the team benefits because there is a common goal,” he added.
“The tough calls are taken by us both," Suryakumar Yadav takes responsibility for unified team decisions
Suryakumar did not leave his coach's side when it came to making tough calls for the team's betterment. He took full responsibility, claiming that they made the calls together, and if it is a tough call, then they would keep the player informed about the reasons they are being left out.
“The tough calls are taken by us both. We need to assess how the team would benefit from adding one player. Earlier, we informed Axar Patel about the match-up thing, saying that if any team has a favourable match-up against an off-spinner, then we will do that. We had a clear conversation,” said Suryakumar.
“Sanju Samson's inclusion was a positive call. He was doing the hard work when he was not in the playing XI. He is bearing the fruit of his hard work,” he added.
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India National Cricket Team India vs New Zealand ICC T20 World Cup Gautam Gambhir Suryakumar Yadav New Zealand National Cricket TeamAbout the Author
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