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Gautam Gambhir admitted India aren’t yet “where we wish to be” in fitness ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Gautam Gambhir has made an enormous claim about Team India’s fitness levels. (Picture Credit: AFP)
India men’s head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday admitted that with only a number of months to go to the 2026 T20 World Cup, the team was not ‘where we wish to be’ by way of fitness. He said he has already had a conversation in regards to the team regarding the improvements he needs and the way physical fitness would directly impact their mental strength within the high-pressure games of the marquee event.
He was speaking a number of hours after India’s 2-1 series win over Australia, capped by a washed-out final match. Up to now, India have yet to lose a T20I series under Gambhir’s tutelage. Nonetheless, the Australia tour gave some warning signs, considering that the hosts were playing all but a ‘B’ team with many of the first-team regulars practicing red-ball cricket for the upcoming Ashes.
“Look, obviously, the first focus is the 2 Test matches against South Africa,” Gambhir told the BCCI in an interview when asked in regards to the team’s immediate goals. “They’re within the World Test Championship, and clearly, they’re playing really good cricket as well. And we know the way essential the World Test cycle is, and these two Test matches are very, very essential.”
The Test series begins on November 14 on the Eden Gardens with the second Test in Guwahati from November 22.
“After which obviously the following focus goes to be the T20 World Cup, which goes to be at home. So for me, I feel these two things are very essential. These two formats are very, very essential. I’m not saying that we won’t deal with the 50-over format, but yes, from the fitness standpoint, I feel we still aren’t where we wish to be come the T20 World Cup,” he said.
“And that is strictly the conversation that we had with the boys as well — that we wish to be absolutely sharp. We wish to be fit, we wish to maneuver quicker. The fitter we’re, the more mentally strong we’re, because come the pressure games, come the pressure situations, the more physically strong you might be, the more mentally strong you might be. So hopefully you guys know the importance of being fit. We still have three months to be where we wish to be, yeah,” Gambhir added.
November 10, 2025, 20:26 IST
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