Shreyas Iyer guided India to a 19-run victory over Pakistan in the men’s cricket gold medal match at the 2026 Asian Games in Nisshin on Saturday, October 3. The win helped India retain their gold medal in the event, with Iyer now turning his attention to the upcoming five-match T20I series against West Indies, starting October 6.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has praised Iyer’s approach to captaincy ahead of the T20I series. The duo already share a strong professional relationship from their time at Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2024 IPL season, when Gambhir served as mentor and Iyer led the franchise. Their partnership culminated in KKR winning their third IPL title.

Gambhir recently explained what stood out to him about Iyer’s leadership during that successful campaign. According to the India head coach, Iyer showed an important quality that is often overlooked in modern captaincy — selflessness.

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Gambhir pointed out that captains who are also among their team’s leading batters do not always willingly change their position in the batting order. However, Iyer was prepared to move down the order when tactical situations demanded it, whether to accommodate another batter or maintain a left-right combination.

“My first experience with Shreyas was when I went to KKR in 2024, where he was obviously captaining. The best thing I liked about Shreyas was that he was actually willing to leave his batting position at times,” Gautam Gambhir said on JioStar’s ‘Follow the Blues’.

He added that Iyer’s willingness to put the team ahead of his individual role demonstrated the qualities required from an effective leader.

Gambhir further stressed that selflessness is one of the most important traits for any captain. He acknowledged that qualities such as discipline, fitness, hard work and batting ability are valuable, but argued that they mean little if a leader is unwilling to make sacrifices for the team.

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Iyer’s leadership will now face another test when India begin their T20I series against West Indies. His recent success at the Asian Games has given him momentum, while the upcoming five matches will provide another opportunity to establish himself as a leader in India’s white-ball setup.

The series follows India’s ODI campaign against West Indies, which ended with the hosts winning two of the three matches. India will now look to carry that momentum into the T20I series, with Iyer expected to play a key role both as captain and batter.