Newly appointed India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who starts his stint with the tour of Sri Lanka later this month, talked about his bonding with senior batter Virat Kohli and said they have “very good relationship off the field” and will continue to do that.
Addressing his first press conference as head coach of the Indian team, Gambhir said the equation between him and Kohli is “between two mature individuals” and it is good for TRP but not for public consumption.
“Good for the TRP, but my relationship is not public. What kind of relationship do I share with Virat Kohli, I think it is between two mature individuals,” Gambhir told reporters.
“On the field, everyone has got the right to fight for their own team, for their own jersey, and want to come back in a winning dressing room. But, at the moment, I think you are representing India and representing 140 crore Indians and I am sure we are going to be on the same page and try and make India proud.
“I share a very good relationship off the field and we will continue to do that. But yes, to make it more public what kind of a relationship (we have) I think it is between two individuals,” he said.
Kohli and Gambhir had a scrap after an IPL match in 2013, when Gambhir was the Kolkata Knight Riders captain. Later, there was another incident when Gambhir was the Lucknow Super Giants mentor in IPL 2023.
The duo eventually had an animated exchange of words before being separated by other players and coaches to control things before it went out of hand.
Gambhir and Kohli were also seen exchanging words and players of both teams had to intervene and separate the two. Gambhir initially pulled away an LSG player who was talking with Kohli.
The two, however, were friendly with each other in public during IPL 2024.
“How many chats have I had with him, after my announcement or before my announcement, during the games, after the games – I think sometimes just because we want headlines – it is not important. The most important thing right now is that we both have got to be working extremely hard to make India proud. And that is our job.
“He is a thorough professional, he is a world-class athlete, he is a world-class player. I have always said that. I have huge respect for him as a player and it is going to continue. And hopefully we can work together really well,” Gambhir said.