Champions Trophy 2025: 3 decisions of Gautam Gambhir lead Team India to a historic victory!
The Indian team has won the title of Champions Trophy 2025. In the final match played at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, India defeated New Zealand by 4 wickets and captured the trophy. The performance of the Indian team was excellent throughout the tournament, and no opposing team could beat Rohit Sharma and company. The credit for this historic victory goes to captain Rohit Sharma and the entire team. Also, some important decisions of coach Gautam Gambhir and team management proved decisive in India's victory. However, there was some criticism about these decisions at the beginning of the tournament.
Varun included in playing 11
Everyone knows that when India's original team was announced, Varun Chakraborty was not selected for it. When the option to make changes to the team was given before the ICC deadline, Varun Chakraborty was given a place in the team by excluding the third opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Initially, this decision was met with skepticism, but by the end of the tournament, it turned out to be Gautam Gambhir’s masterstroke. Varun proved to be the second most successful bowler in the Champions Trophy after New Zealand's Matt Henry. Henry took ten wickets, while Varun took nine wickets, proving how serious Gautam was.
Giving preference to KL Rahul instead of Rishabh Pant
This was a decision that was discussed till the end. And in a way, Gautam's differences with the chief selector came to the fore. The selection committee had selected Rishabh Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper in the team, but Gautam Gambhir played KL Rahul in the playing eleven. When KL Rahul dropped two catches in the semi-final against Australia, KL was a thorn in the eyes of many. However, Gambhir did not change his strategy till the end. Rishabh Pant remained out of the playing eleven throughout the tournament. This was another big decision of Gautam, which played a big role in winning the title.
Making Akshar Patel bat at number five
When Gambhir made Akshar Patel bat at number five in the very first match against Bangladesh in the league round, many people did not like this decision. Many pundits questioned why Akshar was being made to bat before KL Rahul, but Gautam ignored this criticism and continued to play Akshar at the same number till the final. The result was that Akshar scored 109 runs in five matches at an average of 27.25. Although this performance was not extraordinary, it proved to be very useful in many matches considering the situation.
