In 2024 when Hardik Pandya came to bowl the last over of the World Cup, India was dreaming of winning their second T20I world cup, every step of Hardik Pandya was shaping India’s dream to end the T20 World Cup draught and after 17 years of waiting, Rohit Sharma led India to win their second World Cup. It was the redemption of the Indian cricket team, the very first step to become modern day greats. After that win, India made winning ICC trophies a habit.
Also Read | Suryakumar Yadav dismisses retirement talk, focuses on Olympics and future T20 glory
They won the 2025 Champions Trophy and now put March 8 in the pages of history.
How did India outplay everyone?
India became the first team to defend the T20 World Cup trophy. With the right planning, far-sighted approach, India has started the process for the 2026 World Cup long back. Stalwart players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the format and Gautam Gambhir joined as the new head coach replacing Rahul Dravid.
Gautam Gambhir gathered a group of 20 players and started experiments. In the last 1.5 years, team management experimented with 8 opening combinations, while the main core remained the same in the entire process with Surya in the middle. Steadily, the Indian team has evolved into the best T20I team. Despite all the odds, the Indian team found the right tune in the T20Is.
Also Read | Do you know Gautam Gambhir has lost only one final in his entire career? Here’s the remarkable record
Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Varun Cahlravarthy become irreplaceable and on the other hand, Sanju developed a character who learnt how to come back every time in the darkest phase. Together this team has learnt to stay together and become the finest squad in the World.
The core
The modern-day superstars have evolved into beasts with the help of the experienced core. With Surya in the centre, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Varun Cahkravarthy and Arshdeep Singh remained the key players and helped Gautam Gambhir to set the strongest XI along with them.
