Gautam Gambhir, who used to open the batting for India, was appointed the new head coach of the men’s cricket team on Tuesday, July 9, by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially.
His presence before as a player, and after as a coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, must have assured the Indian cricket community when the 42-year-old batter was selected.
Nevertheless, there are questions as to how the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian team would diminish the places of two senior players and the ex-captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Following Gambhir’s appointment, expectations arise in the debate over whether he will retain proven talents or consider the youths.
Is Virat Kohli’s and Rohit Sharma’s careers in jeopardy with Gautam Gambhir’s appointment?
The former Indian Opener may have had success with younger players in the just-finished Indian Premier League, but under his direction, questions about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma‘s futures are making headlines.
On the statuses of the senior India players, though, there could not be any official communication or resolution in this regard. But it was heard that both Rohit and Kohli wanted a lengthy vacation after lifting the T20 World Cup.
Since he had previously taken a two-month hiatus, Kohli was able to attend his son Akaay’s birth on February 15 and hence missed the England Test series. After that, he took part in the T20 World Cup, the IPL, and the T20I series versus Afghanistan.
On the other hand, Rohit has played nonstop cricket since January, having been a member of the Indian team from the away Test series against South Africa to the T20 World Cup 2024.
The way that Gambhir handles these circumstances and decides whether to bring in younger players or stick with the Indian mainstays will undoubtedly be interesting to watch.
Clash of Titans: Gambhir vs. Kohli in the past
During the IPL season of 2013, Kolkata Knight Riders played against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and there was some verbal interaction between the captains, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. After getting Kohli dismissed, Gambhir is said to have made statements that would deliberately upset him and there was immediate mouthwashing of some words.
Disputes arose once for the arrival of teams for the new season in the year 2023 during the IPL match between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Following him, Gambhir joined the fray, attempting to keep Kohli away from Naveen-ul-Haq, and, as a result, there was an exchange of rather rough words between the two players, and a face-off occurred.
Mutual Respect and Collaboration:
In this case, it would be noteworthy to center on the fellowship between Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir in Indian cricket. Many adjectives have been used to describe the respect between both players and the importance of each in the support structure of the team.
Although they have different playing ideas, they are close friends and can turn to each other for Men in Blue in the future too. This respect is observable through on- and off-field drama, when the impressive team mannerism of the Indian cricket team is depicted.
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