Virat Kohli’s much-talked-about, out-in-the-open, feisty on-field relationship with Gautam Gambhir did not become a hindrance in the former opener’s appointment as India’s new head coach as BCCI did not even consult the modern-day great. Kohli’s opinion on the matter was not sought by the Indian cricket board before Gambhir’s appointment was made public.
The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Paranjape, and Sulakshana Naik, unanimously recommended Gambhir’s name, who, along with former batter WV Raman, were the only ones to appear for the interview for India’s head coach’s position. On Tuesday, BCCI announced that Gambhir will replace Rahul Dravid. The former opener will take charge of the team from the Sri Lanka white-ball series.
At 42, Gambhir is India’s youngest head coach. Although his predecessor, Dravid, also shared the dressing room with the current team stars during the latter stage of his playing career, Gambhir announced his retirement from all forms barely five years ago. His last Test match, in fact, was under Kohli’s captaincy in 2016.
His relationship with Kohli, at least on the field, is not something to boast about. The duo have been involved in multiple on-field feuds in the IPL, the most infamous one being in IPL 2023 when Gambhir and Kohli came very close to landing blows after an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants. Gambhir was LSG’s mentor then.
Things, however, took a turn in the right direction in the last IPL. Kohli took the mic to tease at suggestions of friction between him and Gambhir; their embrace during the IPL is to be seen as an exhibition that the relationship was being repaired.
But the board did not want to take any chances. With Kohli now retired from T20Is, the BCCI top brass wanted to look at the future and hence, the former captain was not consulted.
“There is enough time for the two to have conversations over the table. But it was important for the BCCI to look at the big picture with many youngsters likely to feature in the coming years,” a BCCI official told.
Gambhir’s relationship with ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma will also be interesting. Rohit had a fantastic rapport with Dravid. Many believe this was one of the main reasons behind India’s success in the last couple of years, which eventually ended with the T20 World Cup trophy. Rohit has made no attempts to hide that he wanted Dravid to continue, at least until he is certain to play the lead in ODIs and Tests, but the legendary cricketer wanted to get back to his family.
Both Rohit and Kohli are unlikely to feature in Gambhir’s debut series as India head coach. The star players have reportedly requested a longer break from the selectors and will return from the home Test series against Bangladesh.
Hardik Pandya was among the few players who were sounded out by the Indian board before Gambhir’s announcement was made public.
The all-rounder has risen from the ashes after a torrid first half of 2024. He is likely to be appointed as India’s full-time T20I captain. This will be his second shot at T20 captaincy. He did captain the Indian T20I side between late 2022 till the end of 2023 but was never announced as the official captain. Rohit took over right before this year’s T20 World Cup. Hardik, however, was the team’s vice-captain and did a stellar job in the team’s winning run.
