New Delhi: India’s men’s cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has admitted he might have “made mistakes” in handling some aspects of his relationship with senior Indian players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Gambhir opened up on his equation with the duo while speaking at the RevSportz Conclave in Kolkata.
Gambhir, who took over from Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach post the T20 World Cup 2024, reportedly has seen his relationship with Kohli and Rohit get strained over the last few months. Kohli and Rohit retired from Test cricket last year under Gambhir’s tenure after India’s dismal show in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Before Rohit and Kohli’s ODI comeback for India last year, reports had claimed that Gambhir-led Indian team management might move on from the two senior players, with the focus on the ODI World Cup next year. Gambhir also said both Kohli and Rohit were non-committal about the 2027 ODI World Cup after the ODI series against Australia in October last year.
Reports said that the duo’s selection will be based on their performance on a series-to-series basis. As it turned out, both Rohit and Kohli scored runs consistently to all but nail their spots in the ODI team for the 2027 World Cup. When asked about reports about his strained relationship with the duo, Gambhir refused to answer directly but admitted to ‘making mistakes’.
“I am human, I should be allowed to make mistakes. Players should be allowed to make mistakes. I must have made mistakes in the last 18 months. I do not shy away from that. But I have always believed in one thing: wrong decisions with the right intent are acceptable. But wrong decisions with wrong intent are absolutely not acceptable in that dressing room,” Gautam Gambhir said at the event in Kolkata.
The India head coach insisted that he has no problems with making mistakes as long as his intentions are right and he can talk to his players by looking them in their eyes. Gambhir said he is focused on performing his role as head coach with honesty and keeping clear communication with the players.
“Till the time I am doing everything with honesty, till the time I can be honest with everyone in that dressing room, I can look into their eyes and talk to them, I think I am doing a fair job with my position. That is something I can live with. I don’t need to clarify anything and everything that appears on social media,” added the India head coach.
Kohli, Rohit continue to shine in ODIs for India
Having retired from both Tests and T20Is, Kohli and Rohit continue to play only ODIs for India and continue to shine in the fifty-over format. In 2025, Kohli and Rohit were the top two run-getters for India in ODIs. Kohli finished as the highest run-getter with 651 runs in 13 matches at an average of over 65, including three centuries and four half-centuries.
Rohit notched up 650 runs in 14 matches at an average of 50, including two centuries and 4 fifties to finish 2nd. Both batters have dominated the run charts for India in ODIs in their last few assignments and will hope to continue their purple patch in the build up to the 2027 ODI World Cup next year.