Gautam Gambhir's top 3 praises of Virat Kohli

Delhi lads Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli share an intriguing love-hate relationship.

Things were rather amicable between the two when Gambhir gave away his Player of the Match award to a young Kohli after the latter scored his maiden international ton in an ODI against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2009.

Over the years, though, Gambhir and Kohli have made more news because of their run-ins with each other.

They were involved in an ugly spat during the IPL 2013 edition in a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). After Kohli got out, Gambhir appeared to have said something to him, which did not go down well with the batter. The duo was also involved in an extremely heated exchange during IPL 2023.

Gambhir, however, has always maintained that their rivalry is strictly professional and that there is nothing personal about it. A clear example of this is evident from the recent viral video in which Gambhir smilingly made a cheeky comment about Kohli and said that his fight is only on the field.

The former India opener has never been shy of praising his 2011 World Cup-winning teammate.

In this feature, we revisit Gambhir's top three praises of Kohli, most of them coming in recent times.

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#1 When Gautam Gambhir said youngsters can learn a lot from Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli during his knock of 85 against Australia in Chennai. (Pic: Getty Images)

Gambhir heaped praise on Kohli for his crucial knock of 85 in 116 balls in Team India’s 2023 World Cup opener against Australia in Chennai. Set to chase a target of 200, India crumbled to 3/2 after two overs. However, Kohli anchored the chase, adding 165 for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul (97* off 115).

Hailing the senior Team India batter for his resolute knock, Gambhir opined that there is a lot that youngsters can learn from the way Kohli absorbs pressure.

"Imagine when you're 2 or 3 down for two. You can't go out there and hit a long ball. You will still need to be able to absorb the pressure and try and rotate those strikes. And I'm sure these young cricketers coming through will learn from Virat Kohli. That is very important and that is why he's so consistent," he said on Star Sports.

“And I'm sure I think a lot of these young cricketers in the dressing room will learn the importance of fitness, the importance of running between the wicket and the importance of how to rotate strike in the middle as well, because with this new format with T20 cricket, a lot of these new guys want to keep hitting the ball out of the ground," Gambhir added.

Kohli struck six fours in his knock before being dismissed by Josh Hazlewood. India went on to win the match by six wickets, chasing the target in 41.2 overs.

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#2 “There can't be a better finisher than Virat Kohli” - Gautam Gambhir

The No. 3 batter in action against New Zealand during the World Cup match in Dharamsala. (Pic: Getty Images)

After Kohli guided India to victory in the World Cup 2023 league match against New Zealand in Dharamsala, Gambhir termed the No. 3 batter as the best finisher.

He paid the big compliment to the Indian star while also questioning why the finisher’s tag is only given to batters to come in at numbers 5, 6, and 7.

"I have never understood why the finisher's tag is given only to Nos. 5 to 7. An opener can also be a finisher. A No. 11 can also be a finisher. This has just been created by the media. There was probably no finisher 10 years ago. There can't be a better finisher than Virat Kohli because of the number of games he has won. So don't call only the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 as finishers. Whoever scores the last run is a finisher," the 42-year-old told Star Sports.

India were set to chase 274 in the league clash against New Zealand. Kohli yet again guided the chase with 95 off 104 balls, hitting eight fours and two sixes. The Men in Blue got home in 48 overs with four wickets in hand.

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#3 “His performances have been the same in India, Australia, and South Africa”

Virat Kohli batting during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (Pic: Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Kohli became the latest batter to cross the 25,000-run landmark in international cricket. He achieved the feat during the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Delhi in February during his knock of 20 in 31 balls.

Asked about Kohli’s massive achievement of reaching 25,000 international runs, Gambhir opined:

"I am not aware of the other players on the list, but Virat Kohli's biggest specialty is that his performances have been the same in India and Australia, and in South Africa as well. That list might have an Australian batter or some other batter, you have to do the comparison based on their record in their country and also in the subcontinent. So that is the biggest speciality and also how quickly he has scored those runs."

Kohli has amassed 26,532 international runs in 518 matches at an average of 54.36 with 80 hundreds and 138 fifties.