Gautam Gambhir Becomes 5th Cricketer To Win ICC Trophy As Player And Head Coach
India's five-wicket win in the 2025 Champions Trophy made Gautam Gambhir the fifth man to win an ICC tournament as both player and head coach, joining four others.
With India‘s four-wicket win in the 2025 Champions Trophy, head coach Gautam Gambhir has joined an elite list of cricketers, becoming only the fifth man to win an ICC tournament both as a player and a head coach. The 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup champion join former India teammate Rahul Dravid, Australians Darren Lehmann and Geoff Marsh and South African Gary Kirsten in the select group.
After opting to bat first, Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand could only manage a par score of 251/7. In reply, Rohit Sharma laid the foundation for India’s chase with a brilliant 76 (83) and cameos from Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya took the team close before Ravindra Jadeja finished it off on the last ball of the 49th over. It was Gambhir’s first major trophy since taking over the team last year from Rahul Dravid.
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Dravid led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title as the head coach last year. As a player, he was with the Indian team that were declared joint winners of the 2002 Champions Trophy alongside Sri Lanka.
Lehmann was Australia’s coach in their 2015 World Cup triumph. He also won two World Cups in 2003 and 1999 as a player with the Kangaroos. Geoff Marsh, the father of Shaun and Mitchell, won the 1999 World Cup as a head coach while the 1987 World Cup as a player.
Kirsten is much loved in India for playing a key role in the team’s 2011 World Cup win at home. He also won the 1998 Champions Trophy (it was called the ICC KnockOut Tournament then) as a player.
Gambhir was under extreme pressure before this tournament. Under him, India had lost an ODI series against Sri Lanka, gotten whitewashed by New Zealand in Tests at home for the first time ever and then also lost the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy away to Australia.
His philosophies came more to their own in white-ball cricket as India thumped England in ODI and T20I series at home to build momentum towards the Champions Trophy. Once in Dubai, the team went through the league stage without losing a single match and beat Australia in the semi-final to make it to the final.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
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