Sunil Gavaskar sets the tone for India in T20 World Cup 2026: ‘Main course begins from 7th February’

Sunil Gavaskar sees India's series win as a prelude to the World Cup, stressing thorough preparation and intent.

Sunil Gavaskar may have been watching a series win, but he sounded like a man already reading the next headline. Speaking on the JioHotstar show after India sealed the rubber against New Zealand in Guwahati, the former captain framed the entire assignment as a warm-up with a deadline.

Abhishek Sharma playing for India and Sunil Gavaskar (AP/.PTI)

“This series is like an appetizer; the main course begins from the 7th of February,” Gavaskar said, underlining that the immediate takeaway wasn’t just the scoreline, but the intent behind it. “Having won the series, the focus now is on defending the World Cup title. These players are preparing thoroughly.”

For Gavaskar, the strongest signal of that preparation is what India are doing even when the match situation doesn’t demand it. He pointed to the work happening away from the spotlight, especially among those who have barely had time in the middle. “Some of them haven’t even had the chance to bat, so they are working on range-hitting, timing, rhythm, bat flow and pick-up. It shows the focus of this team; they are not taking the World Cup lightly and not taking anything for granted,” he said.

That seriousness, in his view, is backed by a depth that allows India to keep winning while still holding back some of their most dangerous finishers. “India has complete confidence in themselves. When you have players like Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya batting down the order, and they haven’t even needed to bat in two matches, and India is still winning comfortably, it tells you the kind of calibre this team has,” Gavaskar noted, using it as a shorthand for the squad’s comfort in its own options.

He also linked India’s current batting approach to what modern T20 demands, arguing that the best sides don’t chase only boundaries — they chase control. “In a 20-over game, if a batter tells himself that he has five or seven overs, he can look to score off almost every ball. It doesn’t always have to be a boundary or a six. The idea is to make every ball count,” he explained, adding that the ability to absorb small setbacks and move on has become a hallmark of successful T20 teams.

Sunil Gavaskar reserved special praise for Abhishek Sharma’s brutal burst in Guwahati, calling it an exhibition of a rare skill. “Getting to a fifty in just two overs is extremely tough. But what Abhishek Sharma has shown is that he is capable of doing that,” he said, before joking that “the happiest person will be Yuvraj Singh” as old records begin to feel a little less safe.

And on Suryakumar Yadav, Gavaskar suggested the captain’s timely innings could be the reset India wanted. “He hasn’t been short of form; he’s been short of runs. That knock gave him exactly the confidence he needed,” he said — a neat summary of why India, in Gavaskar’s eyes, are treating this phase as rehearsal, not celebration.