3 Masterstrokes By Gautam Gambhir That Helped India Win Champions Trophy 2025

Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma- (@AP)

Dubai turned blue on Sunday when India beat the Kiwis to lift their third Champions Trophy title and end a 12-year-long drought of an ODI title. The Men in Blue shut the critics and silenced the doubters as they clinched their 2nd consecutive ICC title. 

The internet is going gaga over the heroics of the Indian team and is busy praising veterans Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the focus must also shift to Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, who too played a major role in guiding India to Champions Trophy success.

Before the start of the tournament, Gambhir was under the scanner as his job was hanging by a thread after a string of poor performances by the Men in Blue under his stint. The whitewash at home against New Zealand and BGT defeat saw Gambhir become the favourite target for the trolls. 

Nonetheless, the former India opener didn't pay heed to the noise and made major decisions going into the Champions Trophy and this article will talk about that. This piece will shed light on the three masterstrokes by Gambhir that helped India win the Champions Trophy.

1. Bringing In Varun Chakaravarthy

India's star spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has one of the best comebacks in Indian cricket history as the KKR star, who had a terrible campaign during 2021 T20 World Cup, bounced back strongly and finished Champions Trophy as one of India's best bowlers.

It is worth noting that Varun impressed Gambhir during his stint with KKR in IPL 2024. Varun was KKR's best bowler and took 21 wickets in 15 matches. It led to his India call-up and he hasn't disappointed since then.

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Since Varun's return to the team, he is India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is. Further, he has also shone in the ODIs as he has taken 9 wickets in just three matches in Champions Trophy, becoming the joint-highest wicket-taker for India.

Earlier, Varun was not a part of India's Champions Trophy squad, but his heroics against England in ODIs, forced Gambhir to make a decision and bring in Varun to the team, resulting in a masterstroke.

2.Promoting Axar Patel Over KL Rahul

Another strong decision made by Gambhir during the Champions Trophy was to promote Axar Patel up the order. Patel is known to bat down the order and KL has done well at No.5 for the Men in Blue. However, the fans were shocked to see Patel batting ahead of Rahul.

However, the decision proved to be gold as the left-right hand combo in the middle troubled the opposition and Patel shown with the bat. Patel scored a valuable 42 against New Zealand in the group stage match and made crucial 20+ scores in the semis and final. 

The promotion in the batting order also helped Patel gain confidence in other departments as well. He bowled more positively with the ball and shone in the field as well. Thus, Gambhir's decision helped India bring out the best of Patel.

3.Backing KL Rahul Over Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has been India's No.1 choice as a wicket-keeper for a long time in Test cricket that has made his management's favourite.  Further, he too has received the management's backing despite string of disappointing performances in ODI cricket. Amid this, for Gambhir to come and back KL Rahul over Rishabh Pant was nothing less than a bold move.

It was going against the management's will to entrust KL's batting prowess and the DC star did not disappoint. Rahul had to give up his No.3 position, but whenever he got to bat, he proved why he deserved a place in the playing XI. 

He has scored 140 runs in four matches and performed under pressure. His performance includes two fourty-plus scores and most importantly staying until the last and securing a win for his side as seen in the final against New Zealand.

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