'Slipping from the top to the bottom takes only months' - Jay Shah shares words of caution for Gambhir and Suryakumar

Indian cricket has been on an upward trajectory for years now but the trophy cabinet had not been reflecting the growth and development of the various national teams, until recently. Notably, the Indian men's team has won three ICC trophies within the last two years - T20 World Cup 2024 and 2026 and the Champions Trophy 2025.

In view of these successes, former BCCI secretary and current ICC chairman Jay Shah cautioned the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav against getting complacent, stating that it does not take much time for a team to lose its way while it takes years to reach the top. Shah also advised the team to plan for the long-term future so that Indian cricket does not go downhill at any stage.

"I have a message for Surya and Gautam Bhai - slipping from the top to the bottom takes only months, while climbing from the bottom to the top takes years. Keep working hard and keep winning awards. When I was in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), I had planned till the 2028 Olympics. Now I am in the ICC and others are in charge at the BCCI. All of you should prepare for 2030, 2031 and even 2036," said Shah at an awards function in Mumbai on Saturday, March 14.

Apart from the senior men's team's silverware, the women's senior and junior teams have also achieved success in their domains in the last couple of years. The women's senior team won the ODI World Cup for the first time in 2025 while the Under-19 team successfully defended the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup 2025 after winning it in 2023 as well. Moreover, the Under-19 men's team was not left behind either as they won the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year for the record sixth time.

While the senior men's team has won all of the white-ball ICC events at least twice, they have still not been able to get their hands on the World Test Championship title despite being the finalists on the first two occasions. Needless to say, it is the final frontier for the team now.