India coach Gautam Gambhir has revealed the fearless blueprint that powered India to an unprecedented third title at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, while also paying heartfelt tribute to his predecessor Rahul Dravid for laying the foundations of the triumph.
India sealed their second successive T20 World Cup crown, and third overall, with a commanding 96-run victory over New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The victory also delivered Gambhir his second consecutive major title as coach following India’s triumph at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
For Gambhir personally, the achievement carried historic significance. The former India opener became the first person to win a men’s T20 World Cup both as a player during the inaugural tournament in 2007 and as a coach in 2026.
Yet even as he celebrated the achievement, Gambhir was quick to underline that the roots of the success stretched back to Dravid’s tenure.
Before reflecting on those contributions, the India coach explained the high-risk philosophy that shaped the team’s aggressive approach throughout the tournament.
“The plan was very simple as I am a different kind of character. Every person sees cricket differently. It’s not fair to compare what kind of a team I have made – I always believe that high risk, high reward is the only way to play a T20 format, and you don’t fear to lose a game of cricket to win a game of cricket,” Gambhir said.
“If you start fearing to lose a game of cricket, you will never win. And that’s why, as I said earlier, my ideology with the captain was very simple. We will not play a match of 160-170. I would rather accept that we get all out at 100, but that 150-160 takes you nowhere.
“So if you play high risk, that’s when you make 250 or 260 runs. And there will be days like that and it can come in the future. And they have come. We lost a match against South Africa by 100 runs – but that ideology never changed. That mindset never changed. I never thought, that now let’s play a little subdued. Because after South Africa, all our matches were must-win matches. All were knockout matches. But despite that, if you play that kind of cricket, that’s when you give yourself the best chance to win big tournaments.”
Despite the bold philosophy, Gambhir emphasised that India’s success was built on the strong structure established before his arrival, reserving special praise for Dravid.
“Look, first of all, I think I should dedicate this trophy to Rahul Bhai and then to Laxman,” Gambhir said.
“Because what Rahul Bhai has done to keep Indian cricket in such a good shape, I have to thank him for everything what he’s done during his tenure. And then VVS Laxman for unconditionally doing so much for Indian cricket, especially behind the doors, because COE remains the pipeline for Indian cricket.
“And third is obviously Ajit Agarkar, because he does take a lot of flak and the amount of honesty he’s worked with,” he added.
Gambhir also highlighted the role played by Jay Shah, now Chairman of the International Cricket Council, in backing him through difficult moments after he took over as India head coach in 2024.
“And last but not the least, I have to thank Jay Shah, because not many people have actually called me when I’ve gone through the lowest moments in my tenure, whether it was after New Zealand, whether it was after South Africa, the only person who called me actually was Jay bhai,” Gambhir said.
“And I had to thank him for trusting me with this job, because I very well remember this, that when I was given this job, I had no experience of being the head coach of any franchise or any team, but trusting me for this job, so I had to thank these guys,” he added.