India has turned ruthless in T20Is, just as Gautam Gambhir wants it

India has been successfully carrying on its reputation as the world champion in the shorter format of the game. Multiple aspects led the team to the historic victory, one of them being a gritty knock by Virat Kohli in the final match. A tenacious 76 off 59 by the former skipper led the team closer to the ICC Trophy. While still ranked as the best team in T20Is, the team, now led by Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir, has significantly transformed. The transformation was clear as day for everyone to notice across the five-match series against England at home. Over the course of almost a month, the touring side was treated as rookies by the Indian team as they opened 2025 with a commanding 4-1 victory, laden with clinical performances in all departments.

India, under Gautam Gambhir, aims to go all guns blazing in T20Is

India has yet to field its main team in the shorter format since the victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, the team that has played all the series since then looks short of nothing, with their onslaught over the likes of South Africa and England. India opted for Abhishek Sharma to open along with Sanju Samson as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal shifted their focus to Tests. Samson opened the season with consecutive centuries. Abhishek Sharma opened with a ton in his debut series. However, his form took a dip against South Africa and Bangladesh as questions piled up about his consistency, or lack thereof. But the questions stand dashed now that the youngster brought the house down in the final India vs England T20I at Wankhede.

The season started with England touring India for a white-ball series as a prelude to the ICC Champions Trophy. First up, the English were to face the hosts in a five-match T20I series. With focus heavily on the ODI format, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson kept their positions in the team as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal turned to domestic cricket. Now, with the series concluding in a 4-1 scoreline for the hosts, it doesn’t look like India is missing any of its unavailable prospects. Abhishek Sharma took charge in the opening T20I at Eden Gardens, where he smashed 79 off just 34 against England’s pace attack.

Beyond the young opener, each of the Indian batters, including Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson, solely focused on an aggressive batting display. Some batters, like Samson and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, faltered, but India’s aim to thrash the opponents swiftly never faded. Abhishek, the star of Indian batting in the series, kept his strike rate beyond 150 throughout the course of the five matches. Even when England finally threatened the hosts with a clinical bowling display in Pune, the opener scored 24 off 14.

In the match where England’s Saqib Mehmood claimed three wickets, India’s top order staged a collapse. However, redemption came as all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube took center stage. Even with the main batters long out of the scene, Pandya and Dube scored at a strike rate of 155.88 and 176.67, respectively. The bowling department, meanwhile, identified Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy as the MVPs. Now, with the series victory in their grasp, India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, reiterated their aim to adapt to the aggressive style for the shorter format.

Gautam Gambhir has faced massive scrutiny in his short coaching tenure so far. However, irrespective of the forgettable display in Tests, Gambhir, as the coach, has built an enviable rapport in T20Is. India has successfully continued its winning streak in the format with the emergence of young talents like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma under Gambhir. After the victory against the touring England, Gambhir explained his vision for the team and hailed the players’ performances so far.

"That's the kind of T20 cricket we want to play. We don't want to fear losing a game of cricket. We want to play high-risk, high-reward cricket. These guys have adopted that ideology, that policy really well. I think the ideology of this T20 team is based on selflessness and fearlessness. In the last six months, these guys have done it day in, day out,” Gambhir said.

The style of play where a batter aims to hit every ball that comes his way is a risky game. One needs to keep everything, even victory, on the line to fully dedicate his knock to the cause. Even in Bazball, England’s approach under Brendon McCullum, the team keeps its style of play a priority, with the result kept secondary to its playing style. Gambhir advocated for the same as he noted that sometimes the team can bundle out at a low score playing like that, but the approach should not waver.

“We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly. In trying to do that, there'll be games where we'll get bundled out for 120-130. That is what T20 cricket is all about. Unless and until you don't play that high-risk cricket, you won't get those big rewards as well... Come those big tournaments, we want to still continue playing this way and we don't want to fear losing anything,” the Indian head coach added.