Ishan Kishan Exposes REAL Side Of Gautam Gambhir Amid T20 World Cup Heroics

Gautam Gambhir and Ishan Kishan [Source: X]

The cricket scenario of India has pretty much changed after Gautam Gambhir’s inclusion as the head coach since July 2024. From the team approach to personality as well as the general nature of the playing styles. Adding to the row of ‘compliments’, India batter Ishan Kishan has also mentioned the role of Gambhir in his cricketing career.

Ishan Kishan was quietly kept out of the Indian setup after his BCCI central contract snub. Before his January 2026 appearance, Kishan last played a national game back in November 2023. Even though the pocket dynamo didn't have enough time to gel in with the head coach, he asserted seeing the another side of Gautam Gambhir.

Ishan Kishan Explains How He Has Changed As A Man

Known to be one of the on and off-field charmers with his entertaining persona, Ishan Kishan admitted that he has dialled down a lot.

The Jharkhand batter, who was can be occasionally seen doing dance steps to celebrate tournament wins, like the SMAT 2025 final, shared that he focuses more on his batting and wicketkeeping now.

“I’m a changed man now. I don’t get into it too much. I do enjoy jokes and everything, I still do it. But earlier, I used to do it 24×7. Now, let’s say it’s only a few hours a day. More time and energy have been spent concentrating on my batting and wicketkeeping,” Kishan said.

Ishan Kishan throws light into Gautam Gambhir's coaching regime

However, can it be a subtle underlining to the fact that Gautam Gambhir takes the helm in the dressing room? Ishan Kishan didn’t rule out the entire possibility as he took a crack at the coach while revealing how his hard work has impacted the morale of the Indian cricket team.

“Everything (other than cricket) is secondary. Especially under Gautam (Gambhir) bhai,” Kishan added with a chuckle.

While criticisms have flared on how ‘credit-hungry’ Gautam Gambhir is and how he is not ‘so much involved’ with the players, Ishan Kishan’s statement underlines the fact that training and building skills is the primary concern for Gambhir, where not even humour is allowed to seep through his tight demeanour.

India's Performance Under Gautam Gambhir

Since taking charge, Gautam Gambhir’s tenure has been a contrasting chapter of two extreme tales. Unparalleled dominance in white-ball cricket and a face flat crash in red-ball outings.

Though India has successfully transitioned to a younger core in limited-overs formats, winning major trophies, the Test transition is still in progress, as it has led to multiple home Test series defeats.

The first-ever 3-0 home whitewash against New Zealand and a home loss to South Africa came under Gambhir. The only notable fightback came against England, where on the England tour, Gambhir guided Shubman Gill and Co. to a 2-2 draw.

Nevertheless, the aggressive white-ball blueprint has also been the foundation of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. Building on the foundation of the 2024 win, Gambhir has implemented a high-risk, high-reward philosophy, with India breaching the 250-run mark in T20s several times.

Gambhir’s Faith On Ishan Kishan

Batting with this aggressive approach, Ishan Kishan, who earned his national recall after his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy heroics as Jharkhand's leader, was recalled for his attacking style.

Gautam Gambhir, seeing the potential in Ishan Kishan, named him in the T20 World Cup 2026 squad, a decision that has so far proved right. After playing two matches, Kishan already averages 40.50 with a blistering strike rate of 202.50.

Though he was initially named as a secondary choice for wicketkeeper-batter after Sanju Samson, his performance in the New Zealand series led Gambhir to move him up the ranks and give him the opening slot alongside India’s firebrand batter Abhishek Sharma.

Nevertheless, all eyes will be on Gambhir again since India has won their first two group-stage matches against Namibia and the USA, and will now look forward to a win against Pakistan in the third encounter on February 15 in Colombo.