Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Gautam Gambhir. Image Credits: X
Indian Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has fired fresh shots at Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma after winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Sitting alongside captain Suryakumar Yadav, Gambhir seemed salty at the 2 Indian legends without taking their names.
Team India created history when they won the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad, becoming the 1st ever team to defend their title. In the process, the Men in Blue also became the 1st team to win 3 T20 World Cups.
Gautam Gambhir rubs salt on Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma
Speaking at the post-match press-conference, Indian Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir again targeted Indian veterans, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma. Both the legends have shared a salty relationship with the Indian Head Coach ever since he has assumed charge.
Having already retired from the T20I format after the T20 World Cup 2024, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Tests too once they were not given the security by the Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir, before India tour of England 2025.
Also Read- Virat Kohli's Official Statement On India's T20 WC Win Out, Shares Separate Message For Sanju Samson
Reports were rife of a tiff between the Head Coach and the veterans but both the batters scored a plethora of runs in the bilateral series against Australia and South Africa, led to Gautam Gambhir taking a backseat, who was earlier very adamant on getting the veterans out before 2027 ODI World Cup.
Now, after India won their 3rd ICC trophy in 3 consecutive years, Gautam Gambhir has once again pushed the narrative of keeping team goals ahead of personal milestones. Without naming Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir asked media professionals to stop hyping individual performances.
Gautam Gambhir asks not to celebrate personal milestones
"We have played 160-170 cricket for long time. I didn't want this team to play that game. We wanted to play fearless, high risk high reward game. Credit goes to captain as well. I am not accountable to social media. I am accountable to 30 people in the dressing room," Gautam Gambhir said at the press conference.
"As far as bilateral ODIs are concerned, we have lost 2 ODI series in the last few months. So I wouldn't say that we are carrying a white-ball legacy. I would hence request you guys (Media Professionals) to not hype individual performances and keep the team goal ahead," Gambhir further stated.
Virat, Rohit lead wishes for team India
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma led the wishes for the World Cup winning Indian Cricket Team. While Rohit was present at the ground being the brand ambassador of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, Virat shared some special messages online.
Virat tweeted, "Champions ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Phenomenal win for Team India in Ahmedabad. Absolutely no match for the explosive cricket played by us throughout the tournament. Brilliant character shown by the boys to keep fighting in tough situations and become world champions once again. Congratulations to all the players and all the members of the management for achieving this feat. Jai Hind 🇮🇳❤️"
Further, Virat Kohli shared a special story for Player of the Tournament, Sanju Samson. He took to Instagram to celebrate a special message for the Indian wicketkeeper.
Alongside Rohit Sharma, former Indian captain, MS Dhoni was also present at the Narendra Modi Stadium to cheer for the Men in Blue. MS Dhoni was the 1st ever captain to win the T20 World Cup in the tournament's 1st edition in 2007.
Now that the India National Cricket Team has dominated another ICC tournament, the juggernaut keeps moving. First up, the IPL 2026 is set to begin from March 28th. However, the bigger picture now will be the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa and Namibia.
'Unity' the keyword for India to keep rolling
The Indian Cricket Team has become a lean, mean, killing machine over the last few years, winning almost every major trophy that their is to win. One of the prime reasons behind India's success across formats has been the unified approach of the team and the collective happiness enjoying each other's success.
However, ever since Gautam Gambhir's addition to the Indian coaching setup, it would not be wrong to say that visible cracks have appeared more often than not. Although it wasn't unprecedented given Gautam's fierce nature, one would expect him to handle things even more maturely after becoming a father figure in the Indian cricket system.
When there are senior players in the team, who were once your teammates too, they need to be comforted in a different manner. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are no pushovers. Whenever they have turned up off late, they have clearly shown that the hunger and commitment is still there for them.
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Given their fantabulous record for the Men in Blue, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would want to enter the 2027 World Cup with a clear thought process and immense security. However, the Head Coach calling them out openly in press conferences will not only upset the 2 legends but also create insecurity among other members in the Indian team.
The Indian cricket jugular has a special chance of creating a legacy that will be admired by fans and teams for the decades to come. However, to pull that off, Unity is the keyword that will drive the success for the Men in Blue.
For that to happen, not only do Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma have to come on the same page, the new captain, Shubman Gill, should take more command to set the template for his boys to follow.
As they say, "There's no substitute to experience", Virat and Rohit's experience of playing in alien conditions will help the captain and coach in ensuring that the coach's ultimate vision of keeping the team first comes to a fruitful result.
The drama in Indian cricket never ends and it will be interesting to see how the next few months pan out in the buildup to the the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Also Read- MS Dhoni Hugs Jay Shah; Rohit Sharma Teary-Eyed After India’s T20 World Cup Triumph
