Former England batter Mark Butcher went on to praise Gautam Gambhir and team India‘s performance in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. He not only praised the winners as a unit but also praised their strategy to move on from prioritizing individual milestones.

India won the second T20 World Cup in a row, but it seemed evident that they had moved ahead of the idea of just one player contributing to the run tally or the pile of wickets. This World Cup win for India was a combination of efforts from every member of that playing XI.

Ever since Gautam Gambhir took charge of the India team as their head coach, he had worked hard, tried several combinations, and then finalized the team for the ICC T20 World Cup, which, according to him, could secure all ends, and it did.

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India and Pakistan’s contrasting fortunes in ICC tournaments

The Men in Blue have been the best side in ICC tournaments over the last three years. The last time they lost an ICC tournament knockout game was back in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. India lost the finals against Australia, and since then, they have been unstoppable.

India, under Rohit Sharma, broke their World Cup jinx after winning the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in Barbados. He then led them to the Champions Trophy triumph in 2025 in Dubai. With the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 win, India have now won three back-to-back ICC tournaments.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have been very unfortunate over the past four ICC tournaments. The last time they made it to the knockouts was back in 2022 against England in the T20 World Cup final. Since then, they have been knocked out of four ICC tournaments without making it to the semi-finals.

England star praises Gautam Gambhir’s farsightedness in T20s, mocks Pakistan over backdated mentality

Former England batter Mark Butcher praised Gautam Gambhir’s philosophy for moving away from the superstar culture and focusing on a more formidable team effort. Butcher also criticized India’s arch-rival, Pakistan, since the Men in Green are still stuck on personal milestones.

“There’s quite a stark contrast there in the way that their neighbours in Pakistan are still stuck in the idea of personal milestones and individual superstars. Gautam Gambhir, who’s had his detractors over his time in charge, has basically walked away from that mantra and has built a team,” Butcher said on India’s dominant run.

“The point is that in order to win a game of T20 cricket, no matter who the star is, whether it’s a bowling team who are brilliant defensively or a bowling team that knocks a team over for 120 and then you chase them down in 10 overs, it’s the whole that gets you the result,” he added.

Bumrah won that game for India- Mark Butcher declares

Butcher went on to claim that bowlers are the crucial axis of any team in any format of the game. He highlighted the massive scoring contest between India and England, where the Indian bowlers restricted them from securing the most thrilling World Cup semi-final win.

In that contest, while all bowlers were taken for runs, Bumrah secured an incredible show with just 33 runs in his 4 overs. He bowled the 18th over and gave away just 6 runs while England needed 45 runs in the last three overs.

“Look at India’s win over England in the semi-final, there were lots of complaints that there was nothing in it for the bowlers. Bowlers won that game –Bumrah won that game for India. His two overs in the final five… those two overs stopped England in their tracks and stopped England from pulling off the most extraordinary run chase you’ll have seen in a semi-final,” said Butcher (via the aforementioned source).

“That’s why I hold no truck with the idea that bowlers are not important in T20 cricket; they absolutely are, as they are in every format of the game,” he added.

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NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has criticised ex-Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir for his remarks about India’s young opener Abhishek Sharma following the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.Abhishek, who had been under heavy criticism for his poor form earlier in the tournament, bounced back in style in the final against New Zealand national cricket team. The youngster smashed a crucial half-century, giving India national cricket team a blazing start and laying the foundation for victory.

India went on to defeat New Zealand by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, clinching their third ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title after earlier triumphs in 2007 and 2024.The road to the final, however, was far from smooth for Abhishek. The left-handed opener endured a difficult start to the tournament, registering three consecutive ducks at the beginning of the campaign.During that lean phase, Amir criticised the youngster and labelled him a “slogger”. However, the criticism proved premature as India went on to lose just one match in the tournament, with Abhishek playing a key role in the final.Basit Ali expressed disappointment over the harsh criticism directed at the young batter and said he would welcome players of Abhishek’s calibre in Pakistan’s team.“Even if he has scored three ducks, form is temporary, but class is permanent. When people start giving such a classy player names, it honestly feels disappointing to me. The kind of names being thrown around… I just wish we had two or three players like him in our country as well,” Ali said at TV show on ARY News.After India’s title-winning victory over New Zealand in Ahmedabad, Abhishek spoke about the difficult phase he experienced during the tournament and the support he received from the team management.“I mean, of course, but the one thing was very clear… the coach and the captain, they had the faith in me. And even I was doubting myself because it was not an easy tournament for me. I’ve never experienced this before, but still playing the first World Cup,” he said while speaking to the broadcasters after the final.The young opener added that the confidence shown by captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir played a big role in helping him stay focused despite his struggles.“Everyone was so, so much into me that you’re going to win one game, one big game, one big game. So I was just doing my process, but it wasn’t that easy as a young player… going through this phase.”Abhishek also spoke emotionally about the support he received from his teammates throughout the competition.“I think I just love this team, the way they treated me in those days. It was… I’ve never felt it before.”