Ahmedabad, Mar 9: Gautam Gambhir has always been vocal about one principle: individual milestones won’t be celebrated under his tenure as head coach. He reiterates it at every opportunity, especially for those who haven’t taken note.
The latest reminder came after India secured their third T20 World Cup trophy on Sunday, defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in the final with an almost flawless all-round performance.
“I think my simple philosophy with Surya (India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav) has always been that milestones don’t matter. Trophies matter. For too long in Indian cricket, we’ve focused on milestones. And I hope, till I’m there, we’re not going to talk about them,” said Gambhir, a two-time top scorer for India in ICC global finals.
The former BJP MP urged the cricket media to focus on trophies, not milestones. “Stop celebrating milestones, celebrate trophies. That’s what’s important, because the bigger purpose of a team sport is winning trophies, not individual runs. It has never mattered to me, and it never will,” he added. “I’ve been very fortunate that Surya and I are on the same page, especially on this front.”
While no names were mentioned, it’s clear who Gambhir meant by the “milestone men.” In Indian cricket, it’s an open secret that he has felt underappreciated for his own game-changing performances—like his 97 in the 2011 World Cup final or his 75 in the 2007 T20 World Cup final. In both cases, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s match-winning moments overshadowed Gambhir’s contributions.
Gambhir cited Sanju Samson’s performances in the virtual quarter-final, semi-final, and final as an example of team-first cricket. “You can see what Sanju did: 97 not out, 89, 88. If he’d been playing for milestones, we probably wouldn’t have reached 250. This is also a lesson for you guys,” he said.
Social media opinions don’t matter
Gambhir admitted that his philosophies are debatable and sometimes contradictory. He has often been underappreciated for India’s successes and criticized for failures over the last two years. Social media wars haven’t helped either. But Gambhir remains unconcerned with outside opinions.
“First of all, my accountability is not to social media. My accountability is to the 30 people in the dressing room. Even if I win two ICC trophies as a coach, it doesn’t matter to anyone else. Those 30 people matter the most in my coaching tenure,” he stated firmly.
