The ongoing white-ball tour of Sri Lanka marked the start of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India head coach. Under his guidance, India whitewashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the recently concluded T20I series in Pallekele.
Gambhir’s next challenge is the ODI series against Sri Lanka in Colombo, where he has reunited with batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Ahead of the first ODI, Gambhir was spotted laughing with Kohli and their photos together took the internet by storm. The pictures came as a surprise for many since the two stars share a heated past.
Speaking to media on the eve of the series opener, India skipper Rohit addressed queries on Gambhir’s reputation for being a serious individual.
Rohit revealed that Gambhir has a lot of fun in the dressing room and further mentioned that the players won’t get into his personal space and vice versa. He also stated that every coach has their own ways and it doesn’t matter if Gambhir laughs or not.
"See, whatever little chats we had was around cricket – how to run the team, what all is needed, the departments we have done well in, the areas we lack. It was mostly catching up because I hadn't gotten a chance to meet him (since Gambhir became coach). I met him here. We were just having a basic discussion relation to the team, the tournaments that lie ahead, the road ahead," Gambhir told reporters.
"Gauti bhai has a lot of fun inside the dressing room, jokes around, has fun. But what's personal to him is personal to him. I don't think we should try and get into this personal space – as to whether he'll laugh more often among other things. Everyone has their own ways. You may laugh more, but people may not like it. So at the end of the day, it's an individual thing I believe," he added.
Notably, Gautam Gambhir was appointed India’s head coach earlier this month after Rahul Dravid’s tenure came to an end post the T20 World Cup 2024.
The BCCI roped in Gambhir with a lot of expectations as the former India opener mentored Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL title earlier this year.
