‘Fitness wise we aren’t where we want to be’:Road to T20 World Cup 2026 begins, Gautam Gambhir wants India players to be in peak shape

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has admitted that the team still has some work to do before being fully ready for the upcoming T20 World Cup. While acknowledging that the squad isn’t yet at the desired level of preparation, he expressed confidence that there is still enough time to reach the required standards. In a teaser of his interview with BCCI, Gambhir emphasised that the main focus remains on building a transparent and honest environment within the team. He said that clear communication and mutual trust are key factors in shaping a strong and united squad ahead of the global tournament. Gambhir also highlighted the importance of fitness, stating that every player must understand its role in modern cricket. He believes that maintaining top physical condition will not only enhance individual performances but also strengthen the team’s overall consistency as they gear up for the World Cup. Gambhir shares about the dressing room environment World Cup preparation It has been a very transparent dressing room, it has been a very honest dressing room and that is how we want this dressing room to be. I think we still aren’t where we want to be come the T20 World Cup. Hopefully guys know the importance of being fit. We still have three months to be where we want to be The T20 World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka in February–March 2026, with India entering the tournament as defending champions. Gambhir also touched on his coaching philosophy, saying players must be tested in challenging situations to reveal their true character. Gambhir’s challenge to youngsters Test for Gill Throw guys in the deep sea, as simple as it can get. We did the same with Shubman (Gill) as well when he was appointed as Test captain. Gill led India to a 2–2 draw against England in his maiden Test series as captain earlier this year. The full interview is expected to be released later on Saturday on BCCI’s official platforms. We should never ever celebrate a series loss’ – Gambhir I don’t think so, honestly, I’ve always been a believer that it’s not about the individual performances. Yes, I can be very happy with the individual performances and I will always remain happy with the individual performances. But, ultimately we lost the ODI series, that’s the bottom ine. And I can never celebrate a series loss as a coach.lAs a player, I can appreciate individuals, ut as a coach I think it is my moral responsibility that we as a nation and we as individual we should never ever celebrate a series loss Since Gambhir became the head coach, Team India has lost three series to Sri Lanka (ODI), Australia (Test) and New Zealand (Test). Gamhir expresses his ultimate goal as being a coach of Team India; he will never accept a series loss and nor will he celebrate or appreciate. Gambhir shares insight on India’s T20I approach Team India head coach shares his insight on Team India’s T20I approach with freedom to Abhishek Sharma and the rest of the members. He said, “See, runs are different and impacts is different. In T20I cricket, it’s all about the impact in 120 balls. Every ball is an event, every ball needs to have the maximum impact that we can have and that’s the reason from Day one, I think it has been a very fluid batting order and that is how we want to play the game as well.” “We don’t want to play a game thinking about averages, strike rates and all that stuff. We are thinking about how much impact a person can create in what situation. I think that is going to be very important for this T20 side”, he concluded.