Gautam Gambhir speaks on his relationship with Virat Kohli on the field. Gambhir and Kohli have been part of multiple on-field banters before.
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are a duo with similar kinds of personalities on the cricket field. Both have an undeniable passion for the game and for the team they play for. It is evident from each of their playing days as well as from what we have seen with Gambhir’s role as a mentor/coach thus far in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Now with Gautam Gambhir being appointed as the head coach of India’s national team, the dynamics in the dressing room will be quite interesting. The reason is the history of altercations between the aforementioned duo on-field while playing for opposing teams in the IPL.
They have the hunger to fight and win, both for India or any side they play for. Many times, the aggression gets the better of them, but sometimes it does go out of hand, especially when they are up against one another.
History of the altercations
Before going into that, Gambhir and Kohli’s love-hate relationship goes back to 2009, when in an ODI match against Sri Lanka at Kolkata, the latter scored his first international century (107). Interestingly, the left-hander also smashed a century (150) in the game as India won the game convincingly in a run-chase. Though Gambhir was awarded the player of the match for his efforts, he selflessly gave it to a young Kohli.
The duo since then shared plenty of match-winning stands in ODI cricket, including a brief one in the victorious ICC World Cup final in 2011. Fast forward to April 2013, and the duo was involved in a rather ugly verbal spat on-field when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an IPL game. While Virat was leading RCB, Gambhir was at the helm of things for KKR, and both had to be separated by other players.
A similar incident took place in IPL 2023 when, during RCB’s match with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Kohli was involved in a heated exchange with LSG’s Naveen-ul-Haq. This escalated in the post-match customary handshakes when Lucknow’s then mentor Gautam Gambhir intervened and hurled verbal volleys at Kohli.
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Are Kohli and Gambhir on the same page?
However, since then, Gambhir and Kohli seemed to have sorted out their differences, as they were seen hugging during RCB’s game with KKR in the 2024 IPL. Now with Gambhir being appointed as the full-time coach of Team India, the duo needs to co-exist more than ever. After all, one is a successful coach/mentor, and the other is the best all-format batter currently. And, from what we have heard from Gambhir in his maiden presser as the national coach, things seem to be smooth between the duo.
While asked about his relationship with Kohli, Gambhir said, “Good for the TRP. But my relationship with Virat is not public; it’s one of respect between two mature individuals. As I have said that everyone has the right to fight hard for the jersey they are representing and get back to a winning dressing room. But at the moment, we are representing India, and our responsibility is towards the 140 crore Indians, and I am sure we are going to be on the same page and try make India proud.”.
“I have had a lot of chats with him, but sometimes. We shared messages. It’s not important what we discussed after my announcement or before my announcement. Just because we want headlines. He is a thorough professional; he is a world-class player. Hopefully, we can work together really well. Our job is to make the country proud together. We are representing more than a billion people. We have got to be on the same page,” Gambhir added.
While it is encouraging that two of India’s biggest match-winners in World Cups are teaming up once again, the team needs the duo to work well together for the betterment of Indian cricket. With a lot of ICC tournaments lined up in the vicinity, the duo performing well in their respective roles will be ideal.
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