‘Milestones don’t matter, trophies do’: Gautam Gambhir on why individual records shouldn’t define Indian cricket

After all, his team had just crushed New Zealand by 96 runs in the most one-sided T20 World Cup final ever. Even amid the celebrations, though, Gambhir made it clear what he believes should shape Indian cricket during his tenure. Individual milestones, he said, will never take precedence over team success as long as he is in charge.“My simple philosophy with Surya has always been that milestones don’t matter. Trophies matter,” Gambhir said. “For too long in Indian cricket we’ve spoken about milestones. I hope that till I’m here, we’re not going to talk about milestones. Stop celebrating milestones and celebrate trophies.”

India’s emphatic win made them the first team to win three T20 World Cups (2007, 2024, 2026), the first to defend the title and the first host nation to lift the trophy. Reinforcing his point, Gambhir cited Sanju Samson’s fearless batting in the knockout games. “You saw what Sanju did in the last three matches.

Imagine, if he was playing for milestones maybe we wouldn’t have got to 250. That’s the mindset needed in team sport.”‘High-risk, high-reward’Gambhir said India’s approach in the tournament was simple: attack from ball one to ball 120. “The plan was simple — high risk, high reward,” he said. “If you start fearing defeat, you will never win. I told the captain we won’t play for scores like 160-170. I’d rather accept getting bowled out for 100 because totals of 150-160 take you nowhere in T20 cricket.”

The philosophy was evident as India smashed 250-plus totals in both the semifinal and the final.‘Social media doesn’t matter’Gambhir also dismissed outside noise, insisting his accountability lies only with the players in the dressing room. “My accountability is not towards social media. It is towards those 30 people sitting in the dressing room. Even if I win two ICC trophies as a coach, that doesn’t matter. Those 30 people matter the most during my tenure.”Tribute to Dravid, LaxmanThe former opener, who became the first Indian to win the T20 World Cup both as player and coach, dedicated the triumph to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. “What Rahul bhai did for Indian cricket during his tenure deserves huge respect. And VVS Laxman has done tremendous work behind the scenes at the Centre of Excellence, which remains the pipeline for our cricket.”Gambhir admitted he had little head-coaching experience before taking over the role, having previously mentored IPL sides Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders. “When I was given this job, I didn’t have experience as a head coach. For the BCCI to trust me with this responsibility means a lot,” he said.