Well played, coach sahab: Time Gautam Gambhir gets the credit he deserves

T20 World Cup: Mocked, questioned and blamed for every stumble, Gautam Gambhir has quietly reshaped India's T20 identity. Now, with a World Cup in hand, the coach once doubted stands vindicated by a philosophy that turned India into the most ruthless T20 side in the world.

He may have famously picked Marcus Rashford when asked to choose between Ronaldo and Messi, but when it comes to spearheading India’s T20 revolution, Gautam Gambhir has not missed the mark.

In Ahmedabad on Sunday night, as the final New Zealand wicket fell and the Narendra Modi Stadium dissolved into a symphony of blue, Gautam Gambhir did something truly remarkable.

He smiled.

It was a brief, almost reluctant flick of the lips, but it was enough to end a 603-day social media hiatus from a man who broke a nearly two-year silence to acknowledge the triumph. “Coach Sahab, the smile looks great on you,” MS Dhoni posted on Instagram minutes later. “Intensity with a smile is a killer combo. Very well done.”

Coming from Dhoni, the high priest of process and composure, it was the ultimate blessing for a man who has spent much of the last year framed as the villain in a Greek tragedy.

For the better part of 18 months, Gambhir has been the favourite punching bag of the Indian cricketing commentariat. When New Zealand completed an unprecedented 3-0 Test whitewash on Indian soil, it was blamed on Gambhir’s rigid ego. When South Africa repeated the dose, it was Gambhir’s lack of technical nuance. Even a solitary ODI series loss in Sri Lanka was framed not as a sporting anomaly, but as proof of a coach struggling to swim in a sea he didn’t understand. The narrative was set: a tactical dinosaur whose intensity was deemed toxic to a dressing room built on the gentle care of Rahul Dravid. Gambhir has ensured success for India despite criticism and trolling. (PTI Photo)