Robin Uthappa has reopened uncomfortable questions around India’s dressing-room dynamics after pointing out that Gautam Gambhir did not acknowledge Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli following India’s 2-1 ODI series win over South Africa.Rohit
struck two half-centuries, Kohli smashed two hundreds and a fifty, and India’s senior pair ended the series carrying the batting unit. Kohli was named Player of the Series for his 302 runs, yet Gambhir’s post-match press conference made no mention of either player. Instead, he stated that the ODI World Cup is still two and a half years away, and hence no conclusions should be made now.
Uthappa said the omission felt odd, especially because both batters had faced scrutiny over playing just one format. But when the duo made startling runs and dominated, Uthappa wanted the head coach go appreciate them.
Uthappa questions Gautam Gambhir
“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… That felt strange,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar had called Rohit and Kohli ‘non-committal’ for the ODI World Cup before, and Gambhir holds the same view, more or less. The head coach stated that it’s important for Team India to stay present and not plan for 2 years down the line, especially with young players waiting to make their mark.
“First, you have got to realise that the ODI World Cup is two years away. It’s important to stay in the present, and that young boys coming into the setup grab their opportunities,” Gambhir said after the ODI series win in Vizag.
His comments comes at a time when chatter around Gambhir’s relationship with senior cricketers refuses to fade. Since he took charge in mid-2024, India have seen Ravichandran Ashwin retire from all forms and both Rohit and Kohli step away from Test cricket. Their exits forced the BCCI to redraw the plans for the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy, where both were originally expected to play major roles.
Meanwhile, Kohli’s performance lifted him to second in the ICC ODI batting rankings with 773 points, eight behind Rohit’s 781. Rohit’s 146 runs across the series kept India steady in two tight chases, while Kohli’s 135 and 102 defined the victories in Ranchi and Visakhapatnam.
