Since the appointment of India’s new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, the biggest question has been around his potential relationship with the star batter of World Cricket, Virat Kohli. With the latter having already taken retirement from the shortest format of the game, both will hope to meet each other during the ODI leg of the upcoming Sri Lanka trip.
The history of heated conversations between the two Delhi boys is a huge one. The most recent argument between Virat Kohli and Gambhir was during the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League, when they had a rough conversation at the end of the game, where Gautam was the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) side.
However, when Gambhir shifted his base to the Kolkata Knight Riders as their new mentor during the 2024 season, both drew an end to their past relationship with a hug at the M, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
‘Keep it behind the back’- Former India player suggests to Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir
Now, being the head coach and one of the leading batters of the national side, both Virat Kohli and Gambhir need to be on the same page and work together for the development of Indian cricket in the upcoming years.
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Both of these two personalities have been playing with a strong face-to-face attitude in the field. Before India’s departure for Sri Lanka, the former Indian opener was asked about the relationship between him and the 35-year-old.
‘Good for the TRP, but my relationship is not public. What kind of a relationship I share with Virat Kohli.’ The current head coach of the Blue Brigade told to the reporters. ‘I think it’s between two mature individuals. At the moment, we are representing India, we are representing 140 crore Indians.’
‘It’s not important how many chats I’ve had with him during or after the game. He is a thorough professional, a world-class athlete, and hopefully, he will continue that way.’ Gambhir added during the interaction.
Some reports claimed that Kohli wasn’t supposed to be part of the ODI series at the start along with captain Rohit Sharma, as they were preparing for the upcoming three-Test series- Bangladesh and New Zealand at home, and the away Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
But later both changed their mind, given it was the first assignment of Gambhir, who wanted all the senior members of the side to be part of the series so that it would be comfortable for him to give everyone their specific roles in forming the team.
Former India bowler Venkatapathy Raju shared his suggestion to both Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir on how they could develop their relationship like ‘mature sportsmen’.
‘Whatever happened in IPL, they should keep it behind their back. They are very senior cricketers and they are mature sportsmen.’ The former left-arm spinner stated during a recent interview on NDTV. ‘There will be a lot of discussions on social media. We should just leave them.’
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India will be playing six ODI games, as their preparation for the upcoming season of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. It’s still unsure whether Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be part of the next edition of the ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa.
But as of now, it will be the start of a new chapter between the two Delhi boys, as the first of the three-match ODI series begins on August 02, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
