Gautam Gambhir opened up on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
Photo : PTI
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Gautam Gambhir addressed rumours of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
- Gambhir has been teammates with both before retiring
- Gambhir took charge as head coach of the Indian team last year
Ever since Gautam Gambhir's appointment as the Indan cricket team's head coach last year, all eyes were on his rapport with Virat Kohli after a few public spats between them alongside the relationship he shares with captain Rohit Sharma.
The rocky start to Gambhir's tenure as Indian coach put even more spotlight on his relationship with the senior players, who were struggling for form. Both Rohit and Virat hit the roughest phase of their Test career as the Indian team was whitewashed at home by New Zealand, lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 3-1 to Australia.
The struggles in red-ball cricket put even more focus on the head coach's relationship with Rohit and Virat. There were suggestions that it was difficult for Gambhir to manage two superstars in the dressing room.
However, Gambhir has denied any such claim and stated that it has been an honour to coach the star duo. The 2011 World Cup-winner further stated that all individuals have the best interset of Indian cricket at heart.
"Look absolutely not. It has been an honour to be part of the dressing room. This question has been asked a lot of times in the press conference in the last eight months. When your motive is simple in the dressing room, that you want to make the country, then everything is easy. There will always be ups and downs. I said in Australia that everyone in the dressing room, I don't want to name one individual.Everyone is very passionate. Till the time we have passionate and honest people in the dressing room, Indian cricket will remain strong," said Gambhir on the ABP India at 2047 Summit.
Will Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Play 2027 World Cup?
As both Rohit and Virat have retired from T20Is, the ICC event they can feature in is the 2027 Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. After the team's heartbreaking defeat in the 2023 World Cup, all eyes are on the current and former Indian captain and whether they will get another chance to win cricket's biggest prize.
"Till the team they are performing, they should absolutely be part of the team. When you start and finish is your individual decision. No coach, selector, or BCCI can tell you when to retire. If you are performing, you play till 45. Nobody has stopped you.
"Its their decision (2027 World Cup). More that that their performance is important. We just won the Champions Trophy. Their performance is in front of you," Gambhir added.
Gambhir's tenure as the Indian head coach will end in December 2027, which means he will take charge of the team in the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 World Cup as well as the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
India will begin the new WTC cycle in June with a marquee five-match Test series against England.
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