T20 cricket in India is synonymous with MS Dhoni – the man who captained the team to an inaugural World T20 championship all the way back in 2007, and then went on to define the sport and be the face of the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings.

This week, the legendary Indian captain was present at India’s semifinal and final as they lifted a record third T20 World Cup title, and it’s a question worth asking whether his presence indicates a personal significance for him in watching Suryakumar Yadav’s team win at home.

Outside of the IPL, Dhoni has led a very private life following his international retirement. He spends his time in Ranchi with his family and friends, keeping to himself and keeping public appearances to a minimum. For this reason, seeing him present both at the Wankhede Stadium and the Narendra Modi Stadium was an extremely pleasant surprise for fans.

For Dhoni himself, watching India overcome England and then New Zealand would have resonated as well. The wicketkeeper’s last match for his country came against this very opposition, in a different ICC knockout match – the 2019 ODI World Cup, the infamous game spread across two days in Manchester, where the men in blue failed to haul down a target which would take them to the final.

A few months later, the Covid lockdown would strike. With no international cricket around the corner, and Dhoni approaching his 40s, he felt the time was right to take a step back, let through the next generation, and stood down with no ceremony.

In the pages of Indian cricket history, Dhoni’s retirement is one of those which is tinged with heartbreak and a bittersweetness. Yes, he won everything there was to win, but couldn’t depart with the golden glory that many of his contemporaries enjoyed.

Sachin Tendulkar, in the months leading up to his retirement, won the World Cup, scored his 100th ton, and ultimately went off on his own terms with a goodbye in Mumbai. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma called it a day in T20I cricket with India’s first World Cup win in 13 years in Barbados. Dhoni belongs to that echelon – but his famous ‘Consider me as retired’ message falls well short of that kind of goodbye.

He carried out the T20 World Cup trophy with Rohit Sharma, a man who captained the team to that 2024 success. In terms of legacy, that trophy 18 months ago belonged to him, and to Virat Kohli, who had tilted at winning one for so long and finally got there. In 2026, the trophy belongs to this generation of players first and foremost, those who did the job on the field. But it also belongs to a generation that was birthed by what MS Dhoni brought to the game, with his rockstar energy and cooler-than-ice persona.

This may not bury the pain of losing that World Cup semifinal in Old Trafford all those years ago, just like it doesn’t make up for the pain of losing at the same venue in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Those heartbreaks will always sting a little bit more. But in cricket, as in life, it is all about the small steps in the pursuit for closure – and MS Dhoni can smile a little easier, knowing that his fingerprints sit on this World Cup trophy too.

India’s Sanju Samson (C) celebrates with his coach Gautam Gambhir (L) after their team’s win in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup final match against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8, 2026. (AFP)

NEW DELHI: Gautam Gambhir, in the truest sense, is a Delhi boy. He wears his heart on his sleeve.And you cannot even blame him for it. There is a saying in Delhi cricket that playing for India is much easier than playing for Delhi. You have to be tough enough to survive in Delhi cricket’s ecosystem. Gambhir not only survived it, he also led Delhi to their Ranji Trophy triumph in 2007. He then went on to become one of India’s finest openers across formats.

Gambhir was India’s MVP in their two World Cup triumphs: the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. In both finals, he stepped up on the big occasion. Whether it was his 54-ball 75 against arch-rivals Pakistan in Johannesburg or the crafty 97 that steered India to victory in Mumbai four years later, Gambhir proved to be a force in ICC tournaments. Now, as a coach, he has added a World Cup to his resume. Not to forget the Champions Trophy and his IPL exploits as captain and mentor.Gambhir has always shown a stomach for a fight. He is often remembered for those two knocks in World Cup finals, but to truly understand Gambhir one has to look at his marathon knock in Napier in 2009. Gambhir batted for 643 minutes, over 10 hours, and faced 436 balls to score 137 and secure a draw for India.

Gautam Gambhir, Head Coach of India, looks on during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 Final between India and New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium on March 08, 2026 in Ahmedabad, India. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Stubbornness has been a defining characteristic of Gambhir and it has always been evident in his personality.There is a saying in Delhi cricket that if Gambhir trusts you, he will back you till the hilt.Before Suryakumar Yadav became the toast of Mumbai Indians, it was under Gambhir at KKR that he realised his pedigree and was made vice-captain of the Kolkata franchise. Surya has now become only the fourth Indian captain to win a World Cup.Sticking with Sanju Samson despite the batter not performing and continuing to back Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy—the two World No. 1s who were struggling in the World Cup—are just a few examples.

Gautam Gambhir Head Coach of India and Varun Chakravarthy of India during an India ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 net session at MA Chidambaram Stadium on February 23, 2026 in Chennai, India. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

During KKR’s title run in 2024, he noticed Ramandeep Singh training in the gym while the others were celebrating their first win of the tournament. The next day, he spoke to Ramandeep, explained his batting role at No. 7 and 8, and assured him that he would play all the matches. Ramandeep proved pivotal in KKR’s campaign and the Punjab all-rounder even went on to play for India.Then there is Harshit Rana. The keyboard warriors kept their knives sharp, but Rana has grown in confidence and is now looking like a million-dollar investment. Although the Delhi pacer got injured before the start of India’s campaign, Gambhir finally had a bowler who could also swing those crucial 20 runs with the bat.There is an interesting story about Ayush Badoni as well. When Vijay Dahiya urged Gambhir to call Badoni for the Lucknow Super Giants trials, the current India coach drove down to a local ground where Badoni was practising and watched him silently for an hour. Badoni had no clue. Later that evening he received a call for the LSG trials. Now he too is on the fringes of the national team.Gambhir went to war with figures like the late Bishan Singh Bedi and Chetan Chauhan over Navdeep Saini. After watching him bowl for just 15 minutes, Gambhir decided Saini was a rare talent who needed to be groomed properly.“Kudos Navdeep Saini on your India debut. You already have two wickets even before you have bowled, @BishanBedi and @ChetanChauhanCr. Their middle stumps are gone seeing the debut of a player whose cricketing obituary they wrote even before he stepped on the field, shame!!” Gambhir had written in 2019 after the Delhi pacer made his India debut.Former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain and Delhi opener Unmukt Chand believes there is no one like Gambhir when it comes to injecting confidence into a cricketer.“If he supports someone, he truly backs that player. There are many examples. He made Suryakumar Yadav vice-captain. It was a very unusual thing to do back then. When you know you are valued so much in your team, your performance improves. Once the fear of failure is taken away, you thrive,” Unmukt had told TimesofIndia.com.Gambhir hardly smiles. His face rarely gives away what he is thinking or feeling. He has always been a man of few words.Former India coach Ravi Shastri, while calling India’s win, even teased the current India coach by saying, “Come on GG, show us that priceless smile of yours.”Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh made a reel with his coach saying, “Oh paaji kade has bhi liya karo yaar,” leaving Gambhir in splits.MS Dhoni, in his congratulatory post, also teased his former teammate: “Coach sahab, smile looks great on you. Intensity with a smile is a killer combo.”In that one line, Dhoni summed up the man who helped him win two World Cup finals. When the stakes are highest and the stage is a World Cup final, Gautam Gambhir has a habit of showing up. “The first thing is that the players have made me win. I have been saying this for a long time that you are as good a coach or as good a captain as your players. So I think credit needs to go to the players. The way, the professionalism and most importantly the bravery with which this tournament was played,” Gambhir said in a press conference after the win.As a player, he had the habit of turning the biggest nights into his own but after tasting World Cup glory for the first time as a coach, Gambhir stepped aside to let the players enjoy the spotlight.