Robin Uthappa mentioned that he didn't hear Gautam Gambhir acknowledging Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's contributions after India's victory against South Africa in the ODI series. This remark has sparked fresh speculations regarding a rift between India's head coach and the two former captains.
Rohit scored two half-centuries during the three-match series, while Kohli slammed two centuries and one fifty. The Men in Blue defeated the Proteas 2-1, and Kohli was adjudged Player of the Series.
While Uthappa
stated that Kohli and Rohit silenced their critics with the resounding performance, he was bewildered upon seeing Gambhir not showering praise on his former India teammates during the press conference after the series.
“What I found surprising is the post-match of that series, in the press conference, I didn't see Gautam giving credit to either Rohit or Virat. Here are a couple of guys who've batted out of their skins and shown us how good they are and how good they can be. They reduced all kinds of doubts and shut down any naysayers about what they actually can do and will do for India when they are in the right kind of form. That felt strange,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
There have been speculations regarding Gambhir's relationship with the senior cricketers in the Indian team ever since he took up the head coach's role in mid-2024. During his tenure, Ravichandran Ashwin retired from all forms, while Kohli and Rohit stepped away from Test cricket.
Kohli and Rohit played in the Ranji Trophy earlier this year, and it seemed that they would play a key role in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in June-August. However, their retirements from the longest format during the Indian Premier League forced the BCCI to change their plans in quick time.
The iconic Ro-Ko duo will return to action for India during the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The first ODI is set to be played in Vadodara on January 11.
