Published: Mar 11, 2026, 09:58 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 11, 2026, 09:58 AM (IST)
Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison believes Gautam Gambhir’s strong words about milestones in the post-match press conference after India’s T20 World Cup 2026 win were directed at veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Harmison, known for his straight-talking style, said he enjoyed the comment even though he has sometimes struggled with Gambhir as a player and coach.
Speaking on the talkSPORT YouTube channel, Harmison said: “I enjoyed that from Gambhir. I thought it was a little dig at Rohit and Virat, talking about not being interested in milestones and only about the team winning… I like that. I sometimes struggle with Gautam. I did struggle with Gautam as a player and I did struggle with him as a coach. But I liked that little dig at Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.“
“We might have everything going in our favour, but it’s about the team. It’s about the dressing room, and it’s not about individual milestones. It’ll be interesting when they walk back into the 50-over dressing room in the not-too-distant future, hearing that. He has got some kudos now because he has just won a trophy,” he added.
In the press conference after India’s 96-run win over New Zealand in the final, Gambhir made it clear he wants the focus to stay on team success, not personal records.
“For too long in Indian cricket, we’ve spoken about milestones, and I hope, till I’m there, we’re not going to talk about milestones. You can see it very easily as well. You can see it in the last three games, what Sanju (Samson) did – 97 not out, 89 and 89. Imagine if you would have been playing for a milestone, probably we wouldn’t have got 250.
“So I think this is for you guys [media] as well. Stop celebrating milestones, celebrate trophies. That is going to be important, because the bigger purpose of a team sport is to be winning trophies. Scoring personal runs has never mattered to me, and it will never matter to me,” added Gambhir.
Harmison also gave his view on India’s overall tournament performance. He believes India were not the strongest side but were very good at winning key moments.
“The Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson partnership largely won the final for India. Bumrah was the difference in the overall tournament on flat tracks. I don’t think India were the best team in this tournament. South Africa were the best team. India were the best ‘moment’’team. They won the best moments,” said Harmison.
India’s win made them the first team to lift the T20 World Cup three times and the first to defend the title successfully. The comments from Gambhir and the reaction from Harmison have once again sparked debate among fans about team culture, individual records, and leadership in Indian cricket.
For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.cricketcountry.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/
