‘Absolutely spot on’: Ex-India head coach backs Gautam Gambhir’s leadership after T20 World Cup 2026

India's former head coach Gary Kirsten has heaped praises on Gautam Gambhir for the way he has handled the team. Kirsten, who is now the head coach of Sri Lanka, spoke about Gambhir and how the team is not dependent on 2-3 players anymore. Earlier, there were players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma who carried the game forward. 

Now, almost all the individuals are stepping up and that has eliminated the superstar culture in the team. Kirsten gave credit to Gambhir for changing the dressing room scenario. Gambhir took on the head coach duty after Rahul Dravid's tenure ended in 2024. Since then, India have won a Champions Trophy, Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. 

"I think he's absolutely spot on. I think India was driven largely around that superstardom status of each individual, and I think there was a massive commercial entity to that as well. I think IPL has brought on a different dynamic there. I mean, when I was with the Namibians (as a consultant in the T20 World Cup 2026), we were down at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and it is the most impressive cricket facility I have seen anywhere," Gary Kirsten told Wisden Cricket.

"We played against an India A regional team (during the T20 World Cup 2026 warm-ups), which had IPL players in it, but we got bowled out for 60 maybe, and there is just so much depth in the system in India. So, it makes complete sense that the whole game resting on two or three individuals is not necessary anymore," he added. 

It's been quite a revolution: Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten also spoke about how fast the Indian Premier League (IPL) is growing. He mentioned about how great the players were back then and how the evolution has happened so far. Kirsten was with the Indian team as head coach when the IPL started. Under him, India won the ODI World Cup 2011. 

"It's been quite a revolution, actually, to be honest with you. I started with the Indian team in the first year of IPL. I'll never forget watching the semis and the finals of those games, and already then, you could see, just in its first year, what the potential was like. I think it has been an amazing 17-year journey of IPL. One kind of wonders, I suppose, where it's going to go. We know that the game is driven commercially," he added.

Where to watch IPL 2026 matches?

Fans can watch the IPL 2026 matches on JioHotstar via OTTplay premium. The tournament is all set to start from March 28 in Bengaluru.

Also read: WATCH: Virat Kohli smashes huge sixes in practice session ahead of IPL 2026