Watch: Ravichandran Ashwin reacts to Gautam Gambhir’s ‘data’ remark before IND vs ENG T20 World Cup 2026 Semifinal

In the post-match press conference after India’s last Super 8 fixture victory against West Indies during the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, their head coach, Gautam Gambhir, reckoned that he would have no trust in data and numbers in the game, as he feels that the 20-over games are more about instinct and backing that instinct.

Ahead of India’s semifinal against England at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, their former spin all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin, noted that he would not have an issue with such a statement from the head coach, but he addressed that people have actually been misunderstanding data.

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“One coach is saying that he won't use the data. How do I handle this if you ask the same question, what is data? Is Data anything? No, Data is Wagon Wheel, Data is in this much ball, this bowler's match up. People are actually misunderstanding data. I hope you understand that. One thing is the interpretation of the data.” Ashwin expressed in his YouTube video.

Ravichandran Ashwin slams Gautam Gambhir’s data remark

Ashwin also put fingers on how England used the data in the campaign. He also felt that data would be the enemy of one if one didn’t use the numbers of the game, while it would be friends, supporting the players, if they used it in the right way.

Watch the video here: 

“England uses that incredibly well. I run my own game like this. I have massive respect for others who don't want to use data, because data is something that, if you want to use it, you can use it. That's your friend if you don't know how to use it. It's your enemy.” Ravichandran Ashwin shed light.

“I don’t believe in data, honestly. I have never seen data. I don’t even know what data is all about. I feel T20s are more about instinct and backing your instinct as well.” India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, told the reporters at the post-match press conference.