It’s more than 15 years since Gautam Gambhir famously handed over his Man of the Match award to a young Virat Kohli, who was making his maiden ODI century for India against Sri Lanka. That gesture was warm and felt like a recognition of the rising talent in Kohli from Gambhir. But public interactions between these two Delhi cricketers have been as few as the actual instances of familiarity.
Recently, former Mumbai Indians captain Gambhir, appointed head coach of India, was asked about his association with Kohli. He clarified that he and Kohli both are firebrand players on the ground and it gets hot under their collars during gruelling competition.
Gautam Gambhir was talking about those incidents of all-out war during the IPL matches in 2013 and 2023 between his bench and Kohli’s when Gambhir dismissed that these confrontations left any lasting ugliness between the two, besides being a natural response to each other when playing for their teams.
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Former Indian cricketer Piyush Chawla, who has shared dressing rooms with both Gambhir and Kohli, will in all likelihood give a more nuanced dimension to Gambhir’s character. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Gambhir’s former Kolkata Knight Riders captain had been praised by Chawla for the solid support he provided emerging talent.
“What’s the best thing about Gauti bhai? He will motivate you, give you a free hand, and back you if he sees talent in you. Even if you don’t perform in all 14 games, he will still back you, which is incredible for any player,” Piyush Chawla shared, underlining Gambhir’s dedication to nurturing potential.
Speaking about the two contrasting sides of Gambhir’s personality, Chawla said: “On the field, he is so aggressively aggressive. Off the field, he’s so polite and approachable. I played under him for 4-5 years, and the fun I have had in interacting with him is just amazing. Gauti bhai is one of the best humans I have come across.”
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To further illustrate Gambhir’s humility, Piyush Chawla recounts an incident during a show they did together. He was asked which bowler Kohli took a single off to complete his 50th century. Gambhir answered instantaneously. “Now, don’t say there is any tiff”, he quipped. For Chawla, this summed up Gambhir: all class, with a deep respect for talent. Interestingly, Chawla, Kohli, and Gambhir were the ones forming a major majority in India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team-bond forged under MS Dhoni.
