Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir doesn’t see the current lot of players at the level of fitness he wants them to be in preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played early next year in India and Sri Lanka.
Under Gambhir's guidance, India has not yet lost a T20I series. However, given that the hosts were playing all but a "B" squad, the Australia visit offered several concerning things.
“Look, obviously, the primary focus is the two Test matches against South Africa. They are in the World Test Championship, and obviously, they’re playing really good cricket as well. And we know how important the World Test cycle is, and these two Test matches are very, very important,” Gambhir said in a video shared on BCCI.tv.
“And then obviously the next focus is going to be the T20 World Cup, which is going to be at home. So, for me, I think these two things are very important. These two formats are very, very important. I’m not saying that we won’t focus on the 50-over format, but yes, from the fitness point of view, I think we still aren’t where we want to be, come the T20 World Cup," he said.
Gambhir also claimed to have already discussed the team's shortcomings and how their mental toughness will be directly impacted by their level of physical fitness during the crucial games of the big event.
“And that is exactly the conversation that we had with the boys as well—that we want to be absolutely sharp. We want to be fit; we want to move quicker. The fitter we are, the more mentally strong we are, because come the pressure games, come the pressure situations, the more physically strong you are, the more mentally strong you are. So hopefully you guys know the importance of being fit. We still have three months to be where we want to be, yeah," Gambhir signed off.
Here is the video:
