Gautam Gambhir has become the first Indian coach to win two ICC trophies.
India thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday (March 8) to successfully defend their T20 World Cup crown on home soil.
After becoming the first Indian head coach to win two ICC trophies, Gautam Gambhir stressed that the team's culture under his tenure is built around winning trophies rather than chasing personal milestones.
It was India’s third title win with Gambhir at the helm, following the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup triumphs last year.
Speaking to Wisden, India’s 2011 World Cup winning coach, Gary Kirsten, commended Gambhir for dismantling Indian cricket’s superstar culture.
“I think it’s changed in India in the last 15-odd years, and he’s absolutely spot-on. India was driven largely around that superstardom status of each individual,” said Kirsten, referring to Gambhir’s quest to create a "super team" rather than focusing on individual superstars.
“There are so many good Indian players around now, you could literally pick three teams. There’s just so much depth in the system in India now, so it makes complete sense that the whole game resting on one-two-three-four individuals is not necessary,” he added.
Addressing the media after India’s T20 World Cup triumph, Gambhir urged the media and fans to stop obsessing over personal milestones and start celebrating trophies.
“I think my simple philosophy with Surya has always been that milestones don’t matter. It’s the trophies that matter. 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," Gambhir said.
“Stop celebrating milestones, celebrate trophies. That is going to be important, because the bigger purpose of a team sport is to be winning trophies, not scoring individual runs. It has never mattered to me, and it will never matter to me," he reiterated.
The coach cited the example of Sanju Samson, who was dismissed for 89 runs in both semifinal and final while attempting a big shot.
"The best chance to give ourselves to win this World Cup was that how we react when someone like a batter is close to 100. If someone is batting on 94, does he have the courage to go and get 100 next ball, rather than thinking about getting 100 for three or four balls. I think the guys have done that brilliantly," Gambhir stated.
"All of them in the dressing room bought into this mindset. The only way you could hit the big totals. is when you're putting your team ahead of your own self. Everyone in that dressing room was putting the team ahead of himself, and that is the reason why we could achieve something special like this," he further remarked.