On day two of Goafest 2025, Gautam Gambhir, the current coach of the men’s Indian cricket team, and former two-time World Cup winner during his playing days, discussed ‘the making of Gautam Gambhir and the why so serious’ tag associated with him. 

The talk was moderated by Anand Narasimhan, senior anchor and managing editor, special projects, CNN News18.

When asked about his being given the ‘Gambhir’ (serious) tag on the field, he stated that his winning mentality takes over.

“I’m in a profession where there is only one winner. Every time I walk onto a field, I want to be a winner and that’s probably why I have my game face on,” he said.

Defining what he believes ‘Gautam Gambhir’ stands for, he said, “I’m approachable and don’t have too many hang-ups. I don’t have too many desires, I only wanted to be a cricketer and that’s what I have done. I’m also a family man.”

Gambhir went on to reveal the one regret he has in life.

“I wanted to join the army and still regret that I didn’t join it,” he said.

Speaking about the recent ICC Champions Trophy triumph, his first major trophy as the coach, Gambhir credited the team and the support staff.

“It was India that won. It wasn’t me, or the captain alone. It was everyone in the dressing room. One wants to be part of winning teams and being involved was great, but yeh dil maange more,” he said.

Gambhir is known to be expressive and often shown on camera live on television reacting to a player’s performance.

And Gambhir stated that there’s nothing wrong with expressing it.

“Why do I need to hold it (emotions)? What’s wrong with showing it? We aren’t robots playing the game. The players and support staff should be allowed to. With people being active on social media there are reactions to it but people need to understand there are so many things going on in my mind. Showing emotions means you know you care about the game,” he said. 

Before the Champions Trophy triumph, team India lost to Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

During that series, there were various conspiracies around different ‘camps’ within the team – one supporting Rohit Sharma, one with Virat Kohli and another with Gautam Gambhir.

Dismissing this, he said, “The team is honest and wants to represent 140 crore Indians. I’m not responsible towards a commentator, YouTuber or anyone else. I’m responsible for the joy of that 10-year-old boy who has come to watch the game. We want to send fans back to their homes happy. I want to be honest to my job and the players need to do the same.”

He did mention that there could be differences in opinions.

“But that happens in all professions. Ultimately, I believe it’s the captain’s team and the coach needs to give inputs. That’s the support I got from the coach while I was captain of Delhi, KKR and the brief time I captained India,” said Gambhir. 

“If we aren’t playing well, it’s important to have honest talks with the players. If we’re not happy with how we are playing. We want an environment where people are open,” he added before stating that if there are ego clashes, it’s usually the coach who needs to swallow it because the players are the ones on the ground performing and facing all the crowd pressure.

Referring to his on-field spat with Virat Kohli in 2023, while being mentor of LSG, he said, “When you are playing for two different teams, you have the right to fight for the win.  Everything is fine between Virat and me. I have had some heated exchanges on the cricket field and then have had dinner together (with the person) after that. Whatever happens on the cricket field – remains on it. 

Politics

Gambhir also had a five-year stint as a member of the parliament. He encouraged more people to join politics as he believes the country doesn’t just belong to one or two political parties.

“Politics just happened. Everyone in our country has opinions on many topics and that includes politics. So, I’d say to those who have an opinion – try changing things. I believe good people should get into politics. It’s our country and it belongs to us. This country doesn’t belong to one or two political parties – it belongs to 140 crore people,” he said.

Winning moments eclipsing his work

Gambhir top-scored for India in the 2007 T20 World Cup final and the 2011 Men’s ODI World Cup final. However, many associate both the victories with Sreesanth’s catch and Dhoni’s six. 

Responding to a question about how he feels about being ‘underappreciated’, he said, “Not everyone feels that way. It’s only the broadcaster and the news channels. Nothing is underappreciated in India, however, it’s under-shown. But one doesn’t play for the broadcaster, YouTubers or media. One plays for the common man and they have given me appreciation.”

Playing against Pakistan

Gambhir also stated how he believes team India should not be playing Pakistan in any format given the ongoing conflict.

“Sport, Bollywood, artists – everything can take a back seat. The only important thing is the lives of the people and the army. Till the cross-border terrorism ends we shouldn’t play games. The BCCI and the government can have different views,” he said.

He stated that while broadcasters could face revenue losses, TRPs are not more important than the lives of the Pahalgam victims and the subsequent losses during the conflict.

He ended by sharing a message for the attendees.

“It’s okay to make mistakes. You can’t tune yourself to not making mistakes – you will end up making more of them. It happened to me. Human beings are bound to make mistakes. If one is in doubt or under pressure, it’s okay to make decisions – some may be bad, but one needs to have the right intent,” concluded Gambhir. 

Catch an exclusive interview with Gambhir, shortly on Manifest.