India head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up about the bond he shares with batting stalwart and his “friend” Virat Kohli. Gambhir and Virat have had a history of engaging in heated arguments on the field, which have sparked rumours about the relationship that the duo shares. The rumours spiked especially after their animated interaction during a fixture between the Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
During the group stage encounter between both sides, Gambhir, who was serving as LSG mentor, was involved in a fiery exchange with Virat. It all began with the RCB batting maestro, and Naveen-ul-Haq having a heated exchange when players from both teams shook hands after the match.
Moments later, Gambhir was seen animatedly speaking to Virat. Other players, including then LSG skipper KL Rahul and support staff, were seen separating the two.
While speaking at the ABP News Summit on Tuesday, the Indian head coach clarified that people said a lot to gain TRP out of their heated exchange.
“We were friends, we are friends, and we are going to stay friends. On the field, when you represent two different teams, you have the right to fight for your side. But off the field, the relationship you share, everyone doesn’t need to know it. People have said a lot to gain TRP. More importantly, we should love what he has done for Indian cricket,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir went on to jokingly describe his relation with Virat and said that he would ask the BCCI to stop posting about them on social media and said, “It’s just two Delhi boys having fun. If that’s a problem, I’ll tell the BCCI to stop posting about it.”
He even admitted that if he had the opportunity to enter someone’s body for a single day, it would be Virat because of his incredible fitness level.
“If I could enter a cricketer’s body, it would be Virat Kohli, because he is the fittest player on the team,” he added.
Since Gambhir took over the head coach role from Rahul Dravid, a new dawn began in Indian cricket. There were various lows that the team endured but it defied all the odds to lift the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
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