IND vs NZ 2026: 'Why hesitate to praise' - Former Test opener's huge remark on Gautam Gambhir after India's T20I series win

Aakash Chopra urged cricket enthusiasts to praise India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, for the team's surreal success in the T20I format. The former Test opener said that those who criticised Gambhir for the team's dismal performances in Tests and ODIs shouldn't shy away from acknowledging his contribution towards revolutionising the batting in the shortest format.

Chopra, 48, opined that the Men in Blue took quite some time to understand that fearless cricket is the mantra to achieve success in T20 cricket. He hailed Gambhir for bringing a change in the players' mentality.

"Gautam Gambhir deserves credit. When we don’t hesitate to criticise, then why hesitate to praise. I’m talking about India’s T20 batting approach. That approach is not the future, it’s reality. We have understood it late. The formula was the same. There are 11 players and 20 overs and this is what you can achieve if played fearlessly. India weren’t able to do it before," Chopra said while speaking on a video uploaded on 'X'.

Chopra believes that India's ultra-aggressive approach with the bat deterred New Zealand's spirit in the ongoing five-match T20I series. He added that opposition teams nowadays feel even a 300-run target might not be enough to beat India.

"Even now, ODI and T20I series takes place. New Zealand’s bowling unit hasn’t changed but India’s approach changed. The moment we started dominating and decimating, we broke the opposition’s resolve. Now they are saying, even 300 might not be enough because this team is different," Chopra added.

During Gambhir's coaching tenure, India have blown hot and cold in ODIs and Test matches. However, they have blown away opposition teams in T20Is. The Men in Blue have won nine back-to-back T20I series heading into the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup. This includes the ongoing New Zealand series, where India have already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead.

The fourth T20I is scheduled for the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, January 28.