Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan backed head coach Gautam Gambhir’s vision for T20 cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. Pathan said Gambhir has shown the ability to be consistent in his coaching and leadership roles during the shorter formats of international cricket.
Gambhir took over as India’s head coach in July 2024 and has had mixed results in Test cricket. The team has won seven in 19 Test matches, while losing 10 and drawing two. India suffered defeats to South Africa and New Zealand at home, but the team has been dominant in the T20I format.
Gautam Gambhir is always a forward thinking person – Irfan Pathan
While talking to RevSportz, Irfan Pathan said that Gautam Gambhir is perfect for the T20 format as a coach. Pathan said Gambhir’s visionary approach led him to success as a player as well.
Pathan said, “T20 is his strength and he is always forward-thinking. T20 is a fast format game and with this pace, you need a leader of the game, be it a captain, a coach or a senior player, to be ahead of the game and I think that is what a coach, captain and even in the Indian team is doing or doing for Gautam at KKR.”
Don’t think that there are many great minds like Gautam Gambhir – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan said that criticism of Gautam Gambhir is natural, but his Champions Trophy success should not be ignored. He told that India’s Test team is going through a phase of change. Pathan finally described Gambhir as one of the sharpest strategic minds in the game.
“There will be criticism, but we should also not forget their Champions Trophy success. We should consider the fact that the Indian Test team has lost four or five important places in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, Bumrah who is not a regular these days, Ravindra Jadeja who is now focusing more on batting, and a few others,” Pathan added.
“Getting replacements for all those important positions so quickly is not easy and must be considered at this stage. The right noise is being heard, with Shubman Gill pointing out the importance of having a proper preparation camp ahead of the tournament.”
“Talking about Gautam, I don’t think there are many great minds like him as far as correct strategy is concerned.”
India’s T20I dominance under Gautam Gambhir hides inconsistency in Tests and ODIs
Under Gautam Gambhir, India have struggled for consistency in Tests and ODIs, but their T20I form has been excellent. Since he became the head coach, India has won nine consecutive T20 bilateral series and is a strong contender for the T20 World Cup.
India is also dominating in the current T20 series against New Zealand. They took an unassailable 3-1 lead with one match remaining. The team won the first game by 48 runs after scoring 238 and then easily chased down targets of 209 and 150 before losing the fourth T20 match.
Since the start of 2025, India have won 19 of their last 23 completed T20Is. Overall, they have claimed 29 wins in 33 completed T20Is since Gambhir took charge.
In the ODI format, India won the 2025 Champions Trophy in UAE without losing any match. However, during this period they have also faced defeat in ODI series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand.
Also read: Rahul Dravid told why Gautam Gambhir will not win T20 World Cup 2026