3 big reasons why Gautam Gambhir is India's all-time best T20I coach

Gautam Gambhir became India’s head coach after Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended

Gautam Gambhir has been under a constant microscope ever since he took over as India’s head coach from Rahul Dravid. Dravid ended his tenure as India’s head coach on a high, with the Indian team doing well across formats. He ended his tenure with India winning the T20 World Cup in 2024.

India lost to Sri Lanka for the first time in an ODI in Sri Lanka, which dealt Gambhir several major blows. The Indian team also performed poorly in Test cricket and lost the opportunity to play in the World Test Championship 2025 final (WTC 2025).

T20I cricket is a format in which India have been invincible. During Gambhir’s coaching tenure, India did not lose any bilateral series in two years. After this, India achieved their primary goal and won the T20 World Cup 2026 title.

This has made Gambhir one of the most successful Indian coaches, and let’s take a look at what makes him so much better.

3. Gautam Gambhir has made Indian players selfless

Gambhir has been a strong advocate of the idea that in team sports, players should think about the team first, leaving individual achievements aside. The new coach used the foundation laid by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma to improve on an already successful model.

Gambhir reshaped India’s approach in T20Is, a style that their rivals could not match. As a result, India have scored 250 or more runs 7 times in T20I since Gambhir took over.

Gambhir focused on impact by giving clear roles to players. The improved strike rates and fading obsession with milestones have made India invincible in T20Is.

2. Backing his players, making bold calls

India head coach Gambhir has made some bold calls in his coaching tenure and has backed a few players to come good.

He moved the T20I team towards a younger lot, creating a good mixture of experience in the form of Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah, and youth of Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan.

He revived the career of Varun Chakaravarthy, making him the first-choice spinner over genuine match-winners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi. Despite his previous failures, Gambhir backed Varun to come good, and the Tamil Nadu bowler has been on a roll since then.

Gambhir also improved Shivam Dube as a bowler and backed Abhishek Sharma to come good despite failing for the majority of the T20 World Cup. His masterstroke was bringing in Ishan Kishan after admitting that the Shubman Gill experiment failed, just before the ICC tournament.

1. Gambhir has made India near invincible in T20Is

Under Rahul Dravid, the Indian team had become a robust team that could win on any day, but opponents still had a chance against them. However, Gautam Gambhir has taken the current Indian team to a different level, making it an almost unstoppable force.

Under Gambhir, the Indian team didn’t lose a single bilateral T20I series after the 2024 T20 World Cup and only dropped a handful of games during this period.

The Indian team has repeatedly targeted above-par scores on even difficult pitches, and that has been possible with Gambhir tweaking the Indian batting lineup and stressing batting depth.

The carnage that the 2026 group has consistently created over the previous two years makes a strong case that they are the best T20 team of all time. Given how Gautam Gambhir has shaped this team, a dynasty could emerge in the years to come.

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