Surya Kumar Yadav is a great leader, says coach Gautam Gambhir

Indian cricket coach Gautam Gambhir praises Surya Kumar Yadav as a great leader and human being. Gambhir talks about the team's fearless approach, Yadav's leadership, and how the focus is on impact over individual performance, despite occasional failures

Hyderabad: “Surya (Kumar Yadav) is a great human being, and good humans make good leaders. While he speaks highly of me, my role is simply to advise him fairly based on my reading of the game,” says Indian cricket team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir.

“Ultimately, this is his team. His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket’s essence, which is about freedom and expression. Your off-field personality reflects on the field and in the dressing room, and Surya has maintained this atmosphere brilliantly over the past 1.5 years,” Gambhir said in a chat on JioStar.

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“From our first conversation, we agreed: we will not fear losing. I don’t aim to be the most successful coach; I want us to be the most fearless team. In big games like the Asia Cup final, I told the players it’s okay to drop a catch, play a bad shot, or bowl a poor delivery. Human beings make mistakes,” he added.

“Only the opinions of those in the dressing room matter. Surya and I consistently agree: we will never fear mistakes. The bigger the game, the more fearless and aggressive we must be. A conservative approach only gives the opposition an advantage. With the talent we have, if we play fearlessly, we will be fine,” Gambhir said.

On Suryakumar Yadav’s form with the bat, Gambhir said: “Honestly, Surya’s batting form doesn’t concern me because we have committed to an ultra-aggressive template in our dressing room. When you embrace this philosophy, failures are inevitable.”

“It would be easy for Surya to score 40 runs off 30 balls and avoid criticism, but we have collectively decided that it’s acceptable to fail while pursuing this approach. Currently, Abhishek Sharma is in good form and has maintained it throughout the Asia Cup. When Surya finds his rhythm, he will shoulder the responsibility accordingly,” he said.

“In T20 cricket, our focus isn’t on individual runs but on the brand of cricket we want to play. With our aggressive style, batters may fail more often, but impact ultimately matters more than mere runs,” Gambhir said.