“We were friends…” – Gautam Gambhir Address His Relationship with Virat Kohli

In an important interview, the current Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir talked about his relationship with star Indian batter Virat Kohli, as the two have been several times involved in heated exchange several times on the field.

Former India opening batter and now head coach Gautam Gambhir is said to have a very toxic relationship with fellow Delhiite Virat Kohli. The two have been involved in various exchanges throughout their career, especially in the final.

The one particular incident that is still in everyone’s mind is when Gautam and Kohli had a heated argument during an IPL 2023 match between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Lucknow Super Giants.

It was during the post-match that both Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq exchanged some words. Later, Gautam Gambhir, who was working as a mentor for LSG then, got involved and had a war of words and were needed to be separated by the players and support staff.

When the current India head coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about his relationship with Virat Kohli, he said that they were friends, they are friends, and they will be friends. He added that on the field, every player has the right to fight for his team, but off the field, that’s not an issue anymore.

“We were friends, we are friends, and we are going to stay friends. On the field, when you represent two different teams, you have the right to fight for your side. But off the field, the relationship you share, everyone doesn’t need to know it. People have said a lot to gain TRP. More importantly, we should love what he has done for Indian cricket,” Gambhir said at the ABP Summit.

Gautam Gambhir impressed by Virat Kohli’s fitness

The former 2-times IPL-winning captain with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also went on to add that it is just two Delhi boys having fun on the ground.

“It’s just two Delhi boys having fun. If that’s a problem, I’ll tell the BCCI to stop posting about it,” Gambhir further added.

Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team also admired Virat Kohli for his fitness, stating that if he could get into any cricketer’s body, it would be Virat Kohli’s body as he is the fittest player in the Indian cricket team.

For the unversed, Gautam Gambhir was drafted into the Indian cricket team as the head coach, replacing the outgoing Rahul Dravid, after the T20 World Cup 2024. Gautam impressed the BCCI hierarchy with his brilliant tactics and coaching the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL 2024 Trophy.

In a very short span of time, Gautam Gambhir proved his doubters wrong. Many questions were raised on Gambhir after India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy lost in Australia. But Team India and Gambhir silenced the critics by winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai.