Do not get personal on field: Gambhir’s advice to Kohli

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir has adviced Indian captain Virat Kohli to not get personal on the field and has also called the Anil Kumble- Virat Kohli saga the darkest phase in Indian cricket.

Sledging is fine if you don’t cross limit: Gambhir

The former Indian left-hand batsman was speaking with an online news portal when he expressed his views on Kohli’s on-field behavior.

Gambhir stated that he has always believed that aggression is fine. He thinks sledging is fine and aggression is fine till the time you do it within the rules of the game, till the time you don’t cross the limit and you don’t get personal.

The captain is the ambassador of the country: Gambhir 

Gambhir feels that when you are captaining the country, you are a role model for the entire country, you are the ambassador for the country.

The Indian captain’s on-field behaviour especially his aggressive celebrations and confrontations have come under the scanner in the recent past. Some former players have criticized Kohli for his behavior while a few have in fact backed the Indian captain for giving it back.

@imVkohli is one of the modern greats of the game. Aggression has been a part & parcel of competitive cricket, specially when you are playing Down Under as long as it stays in limit. Please cut him some slack.

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) December 20, 2018

Viv Richards: "India were not like this years back (70's, 80's and 90's). But it's nice to have someone like Virat. I love it (aggression), why not? They now love to give it back. That's what cricket is all about. I love Virat's captaincy," ?? https://t.co/Fivubc2063

— Yusuf Unjhawala ?? (@YusufDFI) December 22, 2018

You can leave your ego behind as you have bigger responsibility: Gambhir 

At the same time, Gambhir was asked about the fallout between Kohli and the then coach Anil Kumble. To this, he replied that it was probably the darkest phase in Indian cricket.

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He explained that if 15 people are not happy with one person, obviously it is time for him to go, but if one person is not happy with a certain individual, you have to sort out your differences because ultimately he’s the coach of the entire 15-man squad, not just one player.

The former India opener pointed out that there are 130 crore people who are looking up to the Indian team as well, so he thinks you can leave your ego behind because you have a far bigger responsibility to deal with when you represent the nation.