In response to MS Dhoni’s widely shared Instagram caption, “Coach sahab, the smile looks good on you,” Gautam Gambhir, India’s coach, congratulated the Indian team on winning the 2026 T20 World Cup on March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“Coach Sahab, your smile looks great on you; intensity with a smile is a killer combination. Very well done. Enjoy, guys,” Dhoni had written in his Instagram post after the Men in Blue lifted their third T20 World Cup title.
The head coach was asked to react on Dhoni’s remarks on his smile when he appeared at an event a few days after the T20 World Cup victory. In response, Gautam Gambhir stated that the team was greatly inspired by someone like Dhoni attending the final. He added that Gambhir would be able to write similarly for Dhoni if he were to take over as head coach of the Indian team.
“It was good on him to come and watch the T20 World Cup final. Good on him. He asked me to smile. Hopefully, one day he will be in my position, and I can write the same thing for him. And hopefully, he can smile from the dugout,” Gambhir responded with a huge smile at a RevSportz event.
Watch the video of Gambhir speaking about Dhoni’s Instagram post here:
Gambhir talking about MS Dhoni's Instagram post.
Look at that smile on his face! 🤣❤️ pic.twitter.com/trHU8flU4S
— ` (@WorshipDhoni) March 16, 2026Gambhir Shines as Coach, Dhoni Still Sets the Benchmark
Gambhir has been central to the Indian domination in white-ball cricket since the Delhi-born player took over as leader of the team. Under his captaincy, the Indians won them Men’s 20-over Asia Cup in 2025 by winning the ICC Champions Trophy. Gambhir’s third title as India’s coach at the international level was the 2026 T20 World Cup.
On the flip side, Dhoni has three ICC trophies to his name and is thus far the most successful captain Indian cricket has ever seen. He was the captain of the Indian side that won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and ODI World Cup in 2011. Interestingly enough, Gambhir remains the highest run scorer for India in both finals (75 versus Pakistan in 2007, 97 against Sri Lanka in 2011).
