India and New Zealand are set to square off in the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday (March 8).

On the eve of the title clash, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav addressed a press conference, where he shared insight on Gautam Gambhir as the head coach and what sort of culture he has brought into the dressing room.

Surya said the entire unit has been focused on the bigger picture and no one has been going out there to complete their individual milestones. He added that Gambhir has played a pivotal role in fostering this culture in the dressing room, where every contribution matters.

“Unka bas chale, toh wo he pad pehen ke aa jaye (If he gets his way, then he would himself come out to bat). He has played in World Cups before and helped the team win. His mantra has always been to take contributions from every player. Cricket is one sport where one or two players cannot help you win the trophy. In every game, all of our players contributed. In the semi-final, that was the case. In a team sport, every batter needs to click for a complete performance,” Suryakumar told reporters on Saturday.

“He has removed the concept of personal milestones. It's a team game, for example, Tilak scored 21 runs in 7 balls, it's almost similar to someone getting a fifty or a century. Both things are equally important to us. These are the things he focuses on. Whatever is important to the team, we do. These things spread positivity within the camp; if you leave yourself aside, then the team benefits because there is a common goal,” he added.

Commenting on his working relationship with Gambhir, Suryakumar said it is a team effort and if there is a tough call to be made, they make it a mission to inform the player the exact reason they are being left out.

“The tough calls are taken by us both. We need to assess how the team would benefit from adding one player. Earlier, we informed Axar Patel about the match-up thing, saying that if any team has a favourable match-up against an off-spinner, then we will do that. We had a clear conversation,” said Suryakumar.

“Sanju Samson's inclusion was a positive call. He was doing the hard work when he was not in the playing XI. He is bearing the fruit of his hard work,” he remarked.