Gautam Gambhir became the first person to win the T20 World Cup as a player (2007) and coach (2026). This is his fourth title while remaining unbeaten in the ICC Finals. Under his coaching, Team India has adopted an aggressive batting style.
Ahmedabad: Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has made a record in the history of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which no one has been able to do till date. India won the title by defeating New Zealand in a thrilling final held at Narendra Modi Stadium. With this victory, Gambhir became the first person in the world to win the T20 World Cup as a player (2007) and then as a coach (2026). Not only this, with this victory their record of never losing in ICC finals was also maintained.
This World Cup victory is also a befitting reply to those critics who were questioning Gambhir’s team selection and strategies. This is Gambhir’s fourth ICC title – two as a player and two as a coach. Even before coaching, Gambhir had already made his mark as a player in big matches. He laid the foundation of India’s victory by scoring 75 runs in 54 balls against Pakistan in the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup. Similarly, in the final of the 2011 ODI World Cup, when Sachin and Sehwag were out early against Sri Lanka, Gambhir led India to the title by playing an innings of 97 runs under pressure.
Great journey as a coach
Gambhir took over as the coach of the Indian team in place of Rahul Dravid after the 2024 T20 World Cup victory. In 2025, it was under Gambhir’s coaching that India won the Champions Trophy, ending a 12-year drought. Since Gambhir’s arrival, Team India has adopted an aggressive style of batting. In the last 20 months, India has scored more than 200 16 times. At the same time, the team also crossed 250 runs six times.
India’s highest score till date (297 runs) was also made during this period. During Gambhir’s tenure, the average strike rate of Indian batsmen has been 158.09, which is the highest among ICC full member countries. These figures clearly show that Gautam Gambhir was successful in taking the aggressive game started by Rohit Sharma to a new level.