 "Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting star Virat Kohli and Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir chat during a practice session at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Saturday. Image credit: X/@RCBTweets")
Virat Kohli was reportedly kept in the dark regarding Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as India head coach despite the two appearing to have buried the hatchet in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).
Gambhir had been linked to the role for weeks and it was only on Wednesday when the BCCI made the formal announcement of appointing him as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team until the end of 2027. The former India opener succeeds ex-India captain Rahul Dravid in the job with the latter signing off after helping the Men in Blue win the recently-concluded T20 World Cup.
According to a report on Hindustan Times, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya and a few others were informed of Gambhir’s appointment in the role, the BCCI did not consult batting superstar Kohli for the same.
“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 source was quoted as saying according to the report.
Kohli and Gambhir did not have the best of relations since getting into a verbal spat in the 2013 IPL during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home game against Kolkata Knight Riders. The two would have another face-off a decade later, with Lucknow Super Giants’ Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq also involved in the heated exchange.
The two, however, appeared to have buried the hatchet during KKR’s home game against RCB in which Kohli was seen having a friendly conversation with fellow Delhiite Gambhir and even sharing a laugh during a practice session. The two would even share a hug after the match.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHowever, with Kohli having recently announced his retirement from T20Is along with India skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, the BCCI perhaps might not have considered him a long-term prospect, which could the reason behind not approaching Kohli over Gambhir’s appointment.
Gambhir was a favourite to succeed Dravid as head coach after helping KKR win their third IPL title earlier this year. He had captained the Knight Riders to two titles in 2012 and 2014 and his return to the franchise as a mentor ahead of the 17th season brought with it instant success for the Eden Gardens-based team.
Gambhir was one of two candidates interviewed for the position of head coach, the other being former India opener WV Raman, who had coached the Indian women’s team between 2018 and 2021.