India have been on an absolute roll in T20I cricket. Since the start of 2024, they have won 28 out of the 31 matches they’ve played. Their three losses have come against Zimbabwe, South Africa and England.
The wait for an ICC title also ended as they lifted the T20 World Cup 2024 in June. After the end of that tournament, Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach and Suryakumar Yadav became full-time T20I captain with Rohit Sharma retiring from the shortest format.
And the dynamic duo have been highly successful in the short run so far. Under them, India have stormed past Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and England. In fact, T20I has been the best format for Gambhir so far as India’s head coach. India have 13 wins and two losses since he took over the side. Quite a few players have even revealed how the former India left-hander has helped them.
Moreover, India have been playing an attacking brand of cricket and have constantly aimed to get high scores. In fact, India have batted first in nine out of the 15 games since Gambhir took over and they’ve gone past the 200-run mark seven times.
240 has been breached three times and India were even within touching distance of 300 on a couple of occasions. Such has been the power of India’s batting. Gambhir admitted that they want to aim for 250-260 regularly in T20Is. He acknowledged the fact that in the process, they could be bowled out for 120 as well but that is the game. He doesn’t want the team to fear losing at any stage.
“That’s the kind of T20 cricket we want to play. We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly. And in trying to do that, there’ll be games where we’ll get bundled out for 120-130. And that is what T20 cricket is all about. And unless and until you don’t play that high-risk cricket, you won’t get those big rewards as well. Most importantly, I think we’re on the right track. Come those big tournaments, we want to still continue playing this way and we don’t want to fear losing anything,” Gautam Gambhir was quoted saying to Star Sports.
It is a high-risk, high-reward game: Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav who is yet to lose a series as T20I captain had similar thoughts. He also feels it is a high-risk and high-reward brand of cricket but the team is focused on what’s working for them.
“I mean, this is what we’ve sat down and spoken about, what brand of cricket we want to play and we’re just sticking to it irrespective of what’s going to happen. And it is a high-risk, high-reward game. But at the end of the day, what’s working for us, we’ll be doing that,” Suryakumar Yadav was quoted saying in the post-match presentation.
India’s next T20I assignment is a little far away but they seem to be building up nicely for next year’s T20 World Cup which will happen in India and Sri Lanka.