Reset or continuity? Gambhir and Agarkar face big calls after T20 World Cup triumph

Gambhir, Agarkar tasted success taking harsh calls. Will they stick to their principles as they plan for the LA Games & T20 World Cup In 2028? But wait, there’s an ODI World Cup in the interim...

Moments after lifting the T20 World Cup on Sunday night, Suryakumar Yadav stated upfront that winning an Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles in 2028 is the next target for India now. Was an all-conquering team getting ahead of themselves in the immediate glow of victory, or were the captain’s comments of future conquests backed by definite plan and philosophy?

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India’s T20 renaissance began by overhauling the approach on the day England hammered them in the T20 World Cup semifinal in 2022.

The triumph in June 2024 vindicated the call taken in Nov 2022. This is where head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selectors Ajit Agarkar stepped in and announced that the process of becoming a T20 superpower didn’t stop in Barbados with Rohit Sharma lifting India’s first ICC trophy in 11 years.




The process got harsher and thankless. Designated vice-captain Hardik Pandya was not considered for leadership role anymore due to his persisting injury concerns. Surya assumed charge as captain. Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, part of the 2024 World Cup-winning squad, fell down the pecking order. Kuldeep Yadav, lead spinner in 2024, became second choice to Varun Chakravarthy. Enough has been spoken about Shubman Gill’s elevation to T20 vice-captaincy and then his eventual axe from the World Cup team.

The blink-and-miss nature of T20 cricket doesn’t give you much time to breathe easy. Gambhir and Agarkar have successfully drilled it into the players they backed to defend India’s T20 crown — the composition of T20 squads were based on the conditions expected in the World Cup.

ALSO READ: Team India Report Card: Perfect finish to a not-so-perfect T20 World Cup campaign

As much as the skills of the players were important, the ethos of this management drove the performances. Gambhir, for one, will not tire of his ‘team-over-individual’ and ‘results-over-milestones’ philosophy. He set out to eliminate the ‘superstar culture’ in the dressing room.

Perhaps, the true test of Gambhir and Agarkar’s philosophies start from here onwards. The emphatic triumph has given Indian fans a new set of superstars. Surya’s name will be placed next to Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma in the list of World Cup-winning captains.

Former India selector Devang Gandhi says people must not confuse superstar culture with privilege. “Indian cricket will always throw up superstars. Every sport will have superstars. People need to understand if the player is exercising undue entitlements like travelling alone and staying separately from the rest of the team. Because all that affects the dressing room culture. Big players will go through an odd slump. I am sure the selectors and the team management understand this. It’s all about what the player brings to the team,” Gandhi said.

In the lead up to the ODI World Cup in South Africa in Oct-Nov 2027, the primary focus of Gambhir and Agarkar will understandably shift to stabilising the ODI team, which has been experiencing frequent wobbles of late. But the T20 World Cups keep coming thick and fast. With the Olympics and T20 World Cup in 2028, India will be playing two major T20 events inside a year after the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Under Gambhir, India have successfully set a T20 template that other teams will try to replicate. Rational thinking says there needs to be continuity. But the greatest conflict here is that Gambhir himself has advocated flexibility (and countered predictability) as the essence of playing T20 cricket.

Surya’s prolonged run of poor form and Varun Chakravarthy’s mystery spin getting found out will be at the top of the concern list for the head coach and chief selector. Winning the trophy has given both Gambhir and Agarkar some breathing space when it comes to identifying the next leader, especially after Project Gill crashed a month before the World Cup.

“I don’t see there’s any need to bring about immediate changes. This set of boys are more T20 specialists and are extremely high on confidence. That said, I am sure Gambhir and the selectors will not leave any room for complacency in the dressing room. The focus will be on the ODI team. But I am sure they will be closely monitoring the T20 team’s performances after a couple of series. They are known for taking tough calls and I don’t think they will budge from that philosophy,” former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta told TOI. “Just as they prepared for this World Cup in India, surely they will judge the players’ ability in SENA countries since the next cycle of ICC events will happen in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They will surely keep an eye out for players for those conditions.”

Gambhir and Agarkar have endured constant criticism for all the bold calls they have taken over the last 18 months. They have been very tough to bring about this cultural shift in Indian cricket. Perhaps, it’s time to get tougher.