Published: Mar 14, 2026, 01:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 14, 2026, 01:15 PM (IST)
Gautam Gambhir has already etched his name in the history books, becoming the first India head coach to win two ICC trophies. Under his guidance, Team India lifted the Champions Trophy 2025 and followed it up with another victory in the T20 World Cup 2026.
However, despite this impressive record, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has issued a word of caution. Ganguly believes Gambhir is a good coach, but his real test will come in the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
Ganguly pointed out that South African conditions are very tough, and that tournament will be the true challenge for Gambhir. The 2027 World Cup is scheduled to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in October-November.
Sourav Ganguly said: “In white-ball cricket, Gambhir’s real test will come in South Africa in 2027. The conditions there will challenge Gautam, but I believe with the team he has, he will perform well.“
India last won the ODI World Cup in 2011. In 2023, they suffered a painful defeat to Australia in the final at home. So there is huge pressure on Gambhir to make India world champions again in 2027. Ganguly has called this his biggest examination as coach.
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Ganguly also spoke about the need for improvement in red-ball cricket. Talking to Moneycontrol.
“In red-ball cricket, the Indian team needs to improve its bowling. The simplest way is to stop thinking too much about wickets. In the England series, they couldn’t do much with the pitches – you can see the result. There is no need to play on turning pitches in home matches. Good wickets can give good results,” he said.
Ganguly praised Gambhir as a coach. “Gautam is a very good coach. Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, I said on a platform that he needs some time. In these conditions, he is a very good coach in white-ball cricket. He also has a very good team,” he added.
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India captain Suryakumar Yadav shared exciting details about head coach Gautam Gambhir’s motivating speech in the dressing room right after India’s big win in the T20 World Cup 2026 final.
India crushed New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at Ahmedabad to lift the trophy for a record third time. This also made them the first team ever to win back-to-back T20 World Cups.
With the shiny T20 World Cup trophy sitting on the table in the dressing room, Gambhir spoke to the players. He told them clearly what really counts.
“This is the most important thing in our dressing room, nothing else matters. You can win 100 bilateral matches and no one will remember. But they will always remember this trophy,” Gambhir said.
Suryakumar shared this in an interview. He explained how Gambhir’s words hit home – World Cup glory lasts forever, while regular series wins fade away.
Suryakumar also talked about how tough the early games were. “In the first four games we didn’t give him a chance to laugh – but after that I think he was very happy watching this team, because I don’t think any T20 side in India has ever batted like this, scoring 250, 256, chasing well. I think after the final he smiled the most,” the Indian cricket team captain said.
The team put up massive totals and chased brilliantly throughout the tournament, which made Gambhir super proud and happy.
