Head coach Gautam Gambhir turns tables on Virat Kohli, says ‘you have had more altercations…’ I WATCH video
Former Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli are once again on the same side of the ring. Both Gambhir and Kohli are know to have massive tempers and they have faced off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from opposite sides more than once.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), released a special video of Kohli interviewing new Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Chepauk in Chennai from Thursday (September 19).
Kohli asked Gambhir if having a chat with the opposition made him more motivated to perform or affected his concentration. Gambhir turned the tables on Kohli, saying, “You are in a better position to answer this question, you have had more altercations on the field than I have.”
Both broke out into a laugh with Kohli saying, “Main to ye dhoond raha hoon koi to mere baat se agree kar jaaye (I am looking for someone to agree with me)”.
WATCH Gautam Gambhir turn the table on Virat Kohli in an interview HERE…
A Very Special Interview
Stay tuned for a deep insight on how great cricketing minds operate. #TeamIndia’s Head Coach @GautamGambhir and @imVkohli come together in a never-seen-before freewheeling chat.
You do not want to miss this! Shortly on https://t.co/Z3MPyeKtDz pic.twitter.com/dQ21iOPoLy
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 18, 2024
Kohli started off the interview saying, “So here we are, we have come a long way and putting an end to all the masala” with Gambhir replying, “ya that’s a good way to start!”
What Kohli was referring to was the massive altercation between him and Gambhir during IPL 2023 season. Kohli and Gambhir almost came to blows after RCB’s match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) due to the Afghanistan pacer Naveen ul Haq’s behavior with Kohli post match.
Back then, Gambhir was the team mentor of LSG. The former India opener then joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as mentor ahead of IPL 2024 leading them to the title. He has given up his position with the IPL champions after joining as Team India’s new head coach, a couple of months back.
The two-match Test series against Bangladesh will be Gambhir’s first assignment as head coach in a Test match. Before that Gambhir was involved as head coach in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.
Gambhir praised Kohli for being in the ‘zone’ during India’s tour of Australia in 2018. “The zone that you were in, I felt like that during my century against New Zealand in Napier. I don’t think I could ever bat like that again for two successive days,” Gambhir recalled about his match-saving 137 in the 2010 series.