Rumors of tension between Virat Kohli and Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir grew stronger after a surprising moment during the first ODI in Ranchi on November 30. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir used to share light moments and banter whenever they were around each other, but those friendly days seem far away now.
Kohli had a dream of returning to home soil. The former Indian captain scored a brilliant century, reminisced about his peak years and played a key role in India’s 17-run win over South Africa in the first ODI in Ranchi. He was awarded the Player of the Match trophy for his brilliant innings of 135 runs.
Virat Kohli-Gautam Gambhir’s drama after Ranchi ODI gives rise to rumors
But what happened right after the presentation surprised everyone. As Kohli climbed the stairs towards the Indian dressing room, cameras captured a moment that set social media on fire. Gambhir was seen standing near the entrance of the room, but Kohli passed him without even looking up.
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He remained busy with his phone and did not acknowledge the head coach at all. What surprised the fans even more was that everything looked absolutely normal at the beginning of the match. After Kohli’s 52nd ODI century, Gambhir stood up and applauded along with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowling coach Morne Morkel.
After being out for 135 runs, Gambhir also hugged Kohli warmly inside the dressing room. Yet, just hours later, Kohli is taking to his mobile phone to completely ignore the Indian head coach. This moment has once again fueled the discussion about their relationship.
Virat Kohli is using his phone to ignore Gautam Gambhirpic.twitter.com/wHIjhHNQh7
– Ravi Sharma (@RaviSharma2845) 1 December 2025
After Test retirement, relations between Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir have cooled down.
Meanwhile, a new report has taken Indian cricket by storm by revealing growing tensions within the national set-up. According to the report of Dainik Jagran, the relationship between Gautam Gambhir and senior stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is no longer the same as it was when he became the head coach for the first time after Rahul Dravid.
The relationship that once looked comfortable and promising has gradually cooled. Earlier there was trust and understanding between them, but now it has been replaced by distance, poor communication and obvious discomfort between the coach and two of the biggest names in the game.
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Tension inside the Indian camp reportedly started when Kohli and Rohit announced their sudden retirement from Test cricket. The report claims that during the ODI series in Australia, Rohit and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were not on good terms, pointing to growing tension between the senior players and the team management.
BCCI will come forward to resolve the issues between Gautam Gambhir and senior players
Dainik Jagran quoted a BCCI source as saying, “The relationship between Gautam Gambhir and senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is not as good as it should be, and there could be a meeting regarding the future of the two players. It could be held in Raipur or Visakhapatnam – the venues for the second and third ODIs.”
Now, BCCI is likely to intervene and sort things out between them in the upcoming meeting.
