Who is not aware of the feud between former Indian batsman and current coach Gautam Gambhir and legendary Indian cricketer Virat Kohli? However, this rivalry took an interesting turn when the Indian board appointed Gautam Gambhir as the team’s coach—of the very team in which Virat was still playing. This happened at a time when Virat had almost reached the final phase of his brilliant and illustrious career. Gambhir then found the perfect opportunity to assert himself in this feud, and his first move was to strategically usher a struggling Virat out of both the long and short formats, starting with Test cricket.
Gambhir did not stop there. He wanted to fully implement his policy in One Day Internationals as well. But Virat was no ordinary player—rather, it would be fair to say that for the past 14 to 15 years, the Indian team revolved around Virat. If Virat succeeded, India succeeded; if Virat failed, the entire team faltered. Consequently, when Virat was removed from those formats, India fell from its peak to the ground, and discussions began about bringing Virat back into those formats.
During this period, Virat’s performance in the ODI format—rightly called Virat’s format—remained at the top. Yet Gambhir, who seemed fixated on his stance, insisted that he wanted a team without Virat and Rohit (as Gambhir appears to view Rohit and Virat in the same negative light).
The series against Australia and then South Africa made the performances of both players clear for all to see. After these matches, news leaked from a meeting of the Indian management that Gambhir wanted to build a team of his own choosing for the 2027 World Cup and sought full authority to do so. Subsequently, for the upcoming ODI series at home against the Kiwis, Gambhir submitted a request to rest Virat, and according to some reports, he had already finalized another name for the number three position.
This morning, fresh reports have emerged stating that after reviewing the performances of the juniors and India’s failures—especially in crucial fighting moments—the Indian board clearly told Gambhir: do whatever you want, but we want Virat in the team at all costs. Along with this, another related report is circulating that the Indian board has warned Gambhir that they want the T20 Cup scheduled at home next February—where India is also the defending champion—or else India’s last match in that tournament will also be the last match of Gautam Gambhir’s coaching career.
