India head coach Gautam Gambhir has shut down critics after the team’s recent T20I series defeats to Ireland and England away from home, citing India’s strong performances in the recent two T20 World Cups.
Notably, Shreyas Iyer started his T20I captaincy by losing two consecutive series overseas to Ireland and England. However, he made a strong comeback with two consecutive series wins over Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.
Speaking to JioStar in an exclusive conversation, Gambhir asserted that the Indian team took only 17 months to win its third T20 World Cup. He went on to add that one bad series doesn’t make them a bad side.
“For two years, imagine, we won the World Cup. Which team in the history of sport has gone undefeated from one World Cup to the next and gone on to win the World Cup? It didn’t take these guys 17 years to win a second World Cup. It took them only 17 months to win a third World Cup. Suddenly, one bad series or three bad games here and there do not make them bad players or make us a bad side,” Gambhir told JioStar.
Gambhir also acknowledged that there will always be ups and downs in his role. Under Gambhir, India suffered home Test series whitewashes to New Zealand and South Africa. However, India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2026 in white-ball formats.
“I think I’ve had my own share of ups and downs; I think I’ve had my own failures and successes. But again, I’ve always believed that when you take up that kind of responsibility, there will always be ups and downs,” he added.
