Gautam Gambhir Wants to End Star Culture in Indian Cricket

India’s thrilling six-run win at The Oval not only helped level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2, but also gave head coach Gautam Gambhir the perfect chance to make his vision for the Test team clear – no more star culture.

After the victory, Gambhir said this team will never be about individual stars.

“It won’t be about individual-centric. It will be about the team,” he said in a video shared by BCCI. “The way the boys have fought… they deserved it.”

Gambhir said "That is gonna be the ideology of this Test team – where it won't be about individual centric, it will be about the team". pic.twitter.com/1FYAQcqU9c

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 5, 2025

India had started Day 5 needing four wickets. England needed just 35 runs. But Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna turned the match on its head, taking the final wickets and handing India one of its greatest overseas Test wins.

Siraj took three of those four and ended with a five-wicket haul. He was also named Player of the Match.

A Young Team Steps Up

Gambhir had come into this series under pressure. India had lost the Test series at home to New Zealand and also the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin retiring from Tests, a new era had begun. Shubman Gill took over as captain, leading a young and relatively untested squad.

And the team delivered. Gill was the top scorer for India with 754 runs across the five Tests, including four centuries. His double century at Edgbaston and another ton in the second innings helped India win that match by 336 runs.

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja also chipped in, scoring over 500 runs each during the series.

A New Approach

Gambhir, who had earlier led India to a Champions Trophy win as white-ball coach, now has a Test series draw in England under his belt. He believes in a fresh approach, no big names, just full team effort.
And that vision was on full display at The Oval.