Gautam Gambhir's Outbursts: From Oval Curator to Virat Kohli – 5 Times India’s Coach Made Headlines

Gautam Gambhir, known for his fiery personality, has been involved in several public outbursts—from clashes with Virat Kohli to a spat with the Oval curator. These confrontations have frequently kept him in the spotlight, both as player and coach.

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Gautam Gambhir's top 5 outbursts that made headlines

Former Team India opener and current Gautam Gambhir has a fiery personality and aggressive demeanour that he would not shy away from displaying, especially while standing his ground or defending his team and players.

However, his personality has often landed him in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, as several of his public outbursts have sparked controversies with reactions from fans and experts alike.

Let’s take the top five incidents when Gautam Gambhir made headlines for his outbursts.

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1. Fiery fight with Virat Kohli in IPL 2023

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, both from Delhi, had heated arguments twice in the Indian Premier League. The first altercation was during the IPL 2013 when KKR captain Gambhir and RCB skipper Kohli hurled abuses at each other after the latter’s dismissal. The second incident took place after the IPL 2023 match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow/

Gambhir and Kohli had a fiery verbal spat following the latter’s altercation with LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. The verbal altercation between Gautam Gambhir, who was LSG's mentor, and Virat Kohli went out of proportion as players from both teams intervened and separated them to make the situation worse. Last year, Gambhir, who became a mentor at KKR, and Kohli buried the hatchet in IPL 2024.

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2. Obscene Gesture during Asia Cup 2023

Gautam Gambhir grabbed the headlines when he made an obscene gesture during the Asia Cup 2023. After the match between India and Nepal in Pallekale, the former opener, who was a commentator for the tournament, was caught showing an obscene gesture to a section of the crowd, the video of which went viral on social media.

Many believed that Gambhir was quite infuriated by the chants of ‘Virat Kohli’ following his spat with RCB star batter as an LSG mentor in IPL that year. However, the former Indian opener clarified in an ANI podcast with Smita Prakash that a section of the crowd was chanting ‘Hindustan Murdabad’, which deeply angered him, prompting the gesture, and added that social media did not show a full picture.

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3. Heated Alteraction with the Oval pitch curator

Ahead of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, the tensions flared after Gautam Gambhir was involved in a heated argument with the venue’s pitch curator. As Team India prepares for the crucial Test, Gambhir had a verbal exchange with pitch curator Lee Fortis.

Gambhir was overseeing India’s first practice session at the venue when he was approached by the pitch curator, Fortis. Fortis was seen near India’s practice session and had a word with Gambhir. However, the Indian head coach did not entertain what the pitch curator said. Gambhir was visibly furious and angrily told Lee Fortis, ‘You don't need to tell us what we need to do’, which escalated to a verbal altercation between the two.

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4. Ugly spat with S Sreesanth

Gautam Gambhir got into an ugly spat with his former Indian teammate S Sreesanth during the Legends League Cricket Eliminator between India Capitals and Gujarat Giants in 2023. Former India cricketers were involved in a verbal altercation when Gambhir smashed a six and four off Sreesanth’s deliveries, and the latter gave a death stare to the former India captain.

Sreesanth accused Gambhir of calling him a ‘fixer’, probably referring to his involvement in match-fixing during IPL 2013. However, there was no mention of such abuse in the report sent by the umpire to the LLC committee headed by former India wicketkeeper-batter Syed Kirmani.

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5. Fiery Press Conference after Manchester Test Draw

Gautam Gambhir gave a fiery reply on Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s decision to carry on their batting despite England skipper Ben Stokes’s offer of a draw, despite 15 overs of the final day left. Speaking at the press conference after the Manchester Test ended in a draw, Gambhir stated that England batters would not have walked off if they were nearing the milestones, adding that Jadeja and Sundar deserved to score centuries.

“If someone's batting on 90 and another on 85, don't they deserve their centuries? Would England have walked off if their own players were close to milestones? No. Our boys weathered the storm. They earned those tons. We're not here to please anyone,” Gambhir told reporters.