Gautam Gambhir is ready to accept failures as he prepares to imbibe a “fearless” culture in the T20 outfit.
The head coach believes this attitude would help them achieve success in the long run.
Gambhir is not perturbed by captain Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form as “failures are inevitable” when the team is focused on an ultra-aggressive brand of cricket.
“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,” Gambhir said during a discussion on JioHotstar.
“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,” he added.
Even as Surya was struggling with the bat, the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma lit up the tournament with their explosive batting.
Gambhir said the focus is not on individuals but on the team as a whole.
“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.
“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.
Gambhir also spoke about his vision for building a fearless team culture, and his partnership with Suryakumar.
“Surya 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. Ultimately, this is his team.
“His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket’s essence, it’s 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.
“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.”
