Gautam Gambhir is the man the internet loves to hate. But social media chatter counts for little, and you cannot deny that the former India opener has turned the Indian white-ball team into a winning machine since taking over as head coach. There have been minor hiccups in the bilateral ODI series, but India’s dominance in the T20 format culminated with the World Cup win on Sunday. Since taking the reins in July 2024, Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav have not lost a single T20I series and their partnership reached its ultimate high on Sunday, March 8, when the Men in Blue defended the T20 World Cup title, becoming the first team to do so. The victory was even more special as it came in front of home fans, with India also becoming the first host nation to win the T20 tournament.
India’s former T20 World Cup-winning captains MS Dhoni (2007) and Rohit Sharma (2024) were in attendance at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. They brought the trophy out before the first ball of the finale, before the two stalwarts of the game were all smiles once India picked up the final wicket and got the job done in front of a full-capacity crowd.
Soon after the win, Dhoni took to Instagram to post a special message for Team India and Jasprit Bumrah. However, the 44-year-old did not forget to leave a note for coach Gambhir, with whom he shared many memorable partnerships during his playing days. Gambhir, known for his serious demeanour and rarely one to show too much emotion, was seen smiling after the World Cup triumph, and Dhoni wants that to happen more often. The wicketkeeper-batter, who will soon be seen in action for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, urged Gambhir to smile more often, saying it looks great on him.
“History gets created at Ahmedabad, big congratulations to the team and support staff and to all the fans of Indian Cricket Team worldwide. Such a pleasure to see all of u play. Coach Sahab smile looks great on u, intensity with smile is a killer combo, very well done. enjoy guys(BUMRAH ke baare mein kuch na likhoon tou hi acha hai. CHAMPION BOWLER),” Dhoni wrote on Instagram.
The relationship between Dhoni and Gambhir has been a topic of discussion on social media for several years now. The discourse began after Gambhir remarked that one six did not help India win the 2011 World Cup final, referring to Dhoni’s hit off Nuwan Kulasekara to finish the match at the Wankhede Stadium. However, the former India captain has never publicly spoken against the current head coach.
India’s dominant win
Suryakumar Yadav’s India dominated the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday, winning the contest by 96 runs. India first piled up 255 on the board, powered by half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson.
Jasprit Bumrah then showed his class with four wickets as New Zealand were bundled out for 159, while Axar Patel chipped in with three. Bumrah was named Player of the Match, while the Player of the Tournament award went to Samson for scoring 321 runs in five matches.
