How Team India became T20 format’s superpower?:Tough calls, Dravid and Laxman’s efforts shape new brand of cricket

The nature of T20 cricket has always been unpredictable. It is a format where one day’s poor batting or a single over of loose bowling can change the entire story. This is why it is considered extremely difficult to maintain dominance in T20s. But in the last two years, the Indian team has challenged this notion. In 2024, India won the T20 World Cup for the second time by defeating South Africa in Barbados. Many experts had called that victory the new beginning of Indian T20 cricket. But the real story was written two years later. In March 2026, in the final played in Ahmedabad, India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs to win their second consecutive T20 World Cup. India became the first country to defend the World Cup and win the trophy for the third time. But an even bigger story than these two trophies is that India has developed a system in T20 cricket over the last two years where victory does not depend on a single player or a single match. This team experiments, changes players in every series, and alters strategies, but the winning pattern remains unchanged. This is why it is now being said in the cricket world that Team India has become the new superpower of the shortest format of cricket. India is also the world’s number-1 team in the ICC rankings. But to become the greatest team in history, this dominance will have to be maintained for several years. In this team analysis, let’s know about the factors that led to India becoming the dominant T20 team in the world… 1. Consistent winning pattern: India won all bilaterals between two WCs India won all 8 series and also the Asia Cup. Meanwhile, they also won the 2024 T20 World Cup without losing a single match. This consistent winning pattern continued even after that tournament. Between the last World Cup and the recently concluded World Cup, India won all eight bilateral series. They also won the Asia Cup. Also Read: IPL 2026 might be Dhoni’s last season, says Irfan Pathan During this period, Team India has won 41 T20s out of 50, while losing only 7. India has also thrashed small teams like Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh in bilateral series, besides big teams like Australia, South Africa, England, and New Zealand. In the last two years, India has won 6 out of every 7 T20 matches. 2. Tough and smart decisions: Management chose ‘Impact’ over ‘Name’ After the 2024 victory, when stalwarts like Rohit-Virat stepped down, it seemed a vacuum would be created. But the team management prioritised ‘form’ and ‘impact’ over ‘name’. Keeping Gill, who was considered a captaincy contender, out of the 2026 World Cup squad shows that the team is now giving more importance to ‘tactical fit’ and ‘strike rate’. Bringing Samson in place of Gill and accepting Ishan’s form is the living proof. When 3 left-handers in the top order were not performing in the World Cup, Sanju was brought back and delivered in crucial knockout games of the tournament. 3. Dravid laid the foundation, and Laxman’s talent pipeline The foundation of this dominance was laid during the time of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav got a set team, in which they brilliantly fitted youngsters like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma. Dravid set a winning template for the team and gave senior players the freedom to play fearlessly. Laxman prepared the bench strength at the NCA. Now India’s ‘B’ team also has the potential to defeat international teams. Coach Gambhir also credited Dravid-Laxman for this victory after becoming World Champions. 4. Strong bench strength: Nearly three teams’ worth of players tried in two years, yet won In the last two years, 33 players were tried, with a different combination in almost every series. India tested its bench strength in the bilateral series. Different combinations were seen in the series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Africa. These included Tilak, Bishnoi, Jitesh, Rana, Mukesh, etc. Since the last World Cup, India has tried 33 players and won 41 out of 50 T20s. This means, even after fielding 3 teams, the strength remained the same. Also Read: WATCH | Controversy erupts as Mehidy runs out Salman Agha: Pakistan star throws helmet in anger, says ‘Would’ve done things differently’ India has crossed the 250-run mark 7 times in T20 cricket. Out of these, 6 times it happened under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav after October 2024. In all these 6 innings, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma were part of the playing XI. 5. Captain and coach: Gambhir’s aggressive intent, Suryakumar’s lethal captaincy Coach Gambhir immediately implemented a ‘high risk, high reward’ strategy upon arrival. Meanwhile, Surya’s 80.77 win percentage indicates how precise he has been in tactical decisions. His captaincy is not traditional. He takes risks in captaincy just like he does in batting. Match-up-based strategy, quick decisions, and aggressive field setting are his style. 6. Horde of match-winning players: Different stars from each bilateral series In eight bilateral series, six different Indian players (Sundar, Surya, Hardik, Tilak, Varun, Abhishek) were named Player of the Series. In these series, Samson, Ishan, Shivam, etc., proved themselves. Axar and Kuldeep made excellent use of spin. Bumrah remained the crisis solver, and Hardik Pandya did not let the absence of a third fast bowler be felt. Similarly, in the recent T20 World Cup, India played 9 matches and 5 different players were chosen as Player of the Match. 7. India’s ace bowling: Team with most wickets, best average In this World Cup, Indian team took 377 wickets, the highest among full member teams. A team is made ‘great’ by its bowling. India has taken the most wickets (377) among full member nations since the last World Cup. In this, an average of 19.46 runs per wicket is the best in the world. Bumrah leads the bowling. He took 14 wickets in the T20 World Cup and was India’s top wicket-taker. His economy in the World Cup was only 6.2. In the final, his performance was 4/15. 8. Attacking intent is the new approach: 150+ Strike Rate India scored 8472 runs in the last 2 years. The team’s strategy is clear – control the match from the powerplay itself. This was evident in the World Cup final, when India scored 92 runs in the powerplay. 255 runs was the highest score in the final. Since the last World Cup, India has scored the most runs, 8472. Its average of 29.51 and strike rate of 157.32 are the best. During this period, there were a maximum of 8 centuries, a maximum of 473 sixes, and a maximum of 751 fours.