Ravichandran Ashwin has suggested that the videos of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir laughing and talking amicably during the tense India-England ODI series don’t mean all is well between the duo. He said
that in a professional environment like the Indian men’s cricket team, all players and staff know that cameras are watching them, so the real feelings hardly come out.
There have been rumors of a rift between Gambhir and Rohit since last year, in what is usually described as a power struggle between the head coach and the former captain. Rohit has retired from Tests and left ODI captaincy under Gambhir’s coaching, and now only has the opening spot in 50-over cricket to hold on to.
Even that came under threat with Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar telling him that he’s no longer in their plans. But, simultaneous to these damning reports, Rohit and Gambhir were seen sharing laughs on the Lord’s balcony and on the ground, a couple of times. Some said the duo had ‘sorted’ the matter. But Ashwin suggested that it’s not that simple, saying that ‘fights’ between professionals don’t go like how people think.
“Everyone is a professional,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel about such viral videos. “Everyone knows there’s a camera in front of them. You don’t fight like children in front of the camera. In fact, in a professional setup, in a professional environment, they won’t even fight. If we feel this [relationship] is not happening, we’ll talk less, and we don’t fight. It’s better to avoid confrontations, right? Why keep confrontations? If you can perform, who can stop you? Virat performed, Rohit performed—job done. Now, who can say anything?”
Similarly, the relations between Gambhir and Virat Kohli are said to be frosty, though similar pictures of them looking friendly in public have given mixed signals.
Kohli has been in good form all throughout 2026, and Rohit is expected to buy him more time with his 138 at Lord’s on Sunday. But both will clearly need to be on top of their games if they are to avoid the axe before the 2027 World Cup.
