"You lifted the trophy without Jasprit Bumrah" - Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir's tenure as India's white-ball head coach ahead of 2025 Asia Cup

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Gautam Gambhir for his outstanding tenure thus far as the Men in Blue's white-ball head coach heading into the 2025 Asia Cup. He pointed out that India won the 2025 Champions Trophy, the only ICC event they have played since Gambhir took over as the head coach, despite Jasprit Bumrah's unavailability.

India won the Champions Trophy earlier this year with an all-win record. With Bumrah ruled out of the tournament due to the back injury sustained in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, Rohit Sharma and Gambhir opted to go with a spin-heavy attack.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener credited Gambhir for the Champions Trophy win, highlighting that the move to play four spinners in the playing XI yielded rich dividends.

"Not many ODIs have happened. Only 11 matches have been played, but it includes the Champions Trophy win. Once you have won the Champions Trophy, I think this is the pinnacle. Only one ICC event has happened in his tenure, and you have lifted the trophy there," Chopra said (6:05).

"The team selection was slightly against the grain. There were four spinners, and you played all four. That was phenomenal. Varun Chakaravarthy played and he became your trump card. There you have to give him the credit. There was criticism, but he stuck to his guns. You lifted the trophy without Jasprit Bumrah. Thumbs up to you with both hands there," he added.

India included Varun Chakavarthy as a fourth spinner in their playing XI in their last three games of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The mystery spinner played a huge role in the Men in Blue's triumph, picking up nine wickets at an average of 15.11 and an economy rate of 4.53.

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"He has created a new template" - Aakash Chopra on Gautam Gambhir as India's T20I head coach

India haven't lost a T20I under Gautam Gambhir (right) as head coach. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that India have been on a winning spree in T20Is under Gautam Gambhir, who has formulated a new approach.

"He has an impeccable record in T20Is. In T20 cricket, he has created a new template. It will be interesting to see how Shubman Gill fits into this template as an opener. Considering the number of chances and confidence Sanju Samson was given, it seems like you invest in people and back them to the hilt," he said.

While observing that Gambhir has backed players like Sanju Samson, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Gambhir has no role in Shubman Gill's appointment as vice-captain and potential return as an opener.

"You might say that he is not doing it now. Selection is the selectors' job. The coach's job is to play players from the team provided. I don't think you should be looking at Gautam Gambhir at all for Shubman opening or becoming the vice-captain," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra noted that Gautam Gambhir should be credited for Varun Chakavarthy's rise in white-ball cricket, highlighting that he brought the spinner into the Indian team from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The analyst added that Gambhir has a little more preference for Harshit Rana, as he has seen the seamer closely, but the KKR pacer might compete with Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj for a place moving forward.