5 major statements made by Gautam Gambhir in recent event amid IPL 2025

Team India head coach and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir recently appeared at an event amid the IPL 2025 season. Gambhir is off duty at the moment, with the IPL going on.

He recently led India to an ICC title, as the Men in Blue won the 2025 Champions Trophy. They beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final in March. Last year, Gautam Gambhir was the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and led them to the IPL 2024 title.

This time around, he is away from the IPL, owing to his role as the head coach of the national team. He will be back in action soon, as India are set to travel to England in June for a five-Test series right after the conclusion of the IPL 2025 season.

During his appearance at the ABP News' 'India At 2047' Summit, Gambhir made several statements that caught the attention of one and all. That said, let us look at five major statements he made at the event.

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5 major statements made by Gautam Gambhir at ABP News' 'India At 2047' Summit

#5 "There are people who are sitting in the commentary box for 25 years and feel that Indian cricket is their personal fiefdom"

After Gautam Gambhir took over as the head coach of the national team last year, India suffered humiliating back-to-back Test series defeats against New Zealand (3-0) at home and against Australia (3-1) in Australia. Several questions were raised, and Gambhir was criticized. The 43-year-old has now responded, saying (via NDTV Sports):

"I am into this job for eight months. If results don't come, I am absolutely fine with criticism. It is people's job to criticise. There are people who are sitting in the commentary box for 25 years and feel that Indian cricket is their personal fiefdom. Unfortunately, Indian cricket's no one's personal property and it belongs to 140 crore Indians."

He bounced back from the failures, as India went on to win the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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#4 "Two months back, a coach and a captain together won a Champions Trophy"

India v New Zealand: Final - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Post the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) debacle, there were speculations about possible differences between Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, who is the Test and ODI captain.

However, Gambhir has rejected these claims, saying that he (coach) and Rohit (captain) together won the Champions Trophy recently.

"Who are these people, who are saying all these things? These are speculations done by experts and those who run YouTube channels. Two months back, a coach and a captain together won a Champions Trophy," he said (via NDTV Sports).

He added that he respected Rohit for what he has done for Indian cricket and that it will remain the same.

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#3 "I’ll tell the BCCI to stop posting about it"

Net Sessions - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

There have also been talks of a strained relationship between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. The two have had intense moments on the field earlier as well. However, Gautam Gambhir once again cleared the air about his relationship with Virat.

“It’s just two Delhi boys having fun. If that’s a problem, I’ll tell the BCCI to stop posting about it," he said (via The Times of India).

Gambhir was also asked which cricketer's body he would step into if given a chance, and he named Virat, saying he is the fittest player in the team.

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#2 "My personal answer to this is absolutely no"

Following the Pahalgam terror attacks, there have been talks about India not playing Pakistan even in ICC events. When asked about his stance on the same, Gautam Gambhir said there should be no cricket between the two countries.

"My personal answer to this is absolutely no. Till all this (cross-border terrorism) doesn’t stop there should not be anything between India and Pakistan. Ultimately this is government’s call whether we play them or not. I have said this before also, no cricket match or Bollywood or any other interaction is more important than the life of Indian soldiers and Indian citizens," he said (via Sportstar).

The last time India played a bilateral series against Pakistan was in 2012-13. Since then, the two teams have only met at multinational or ICC events.

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#1 "If you had called them, they would have given you a better answer to this question"

Final Previews - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Gautam Gambhir was also asked whether senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be a part of the England tour. The head coach said it was the selectors' job to pick the squad, not his as a coach. He added that the selectors should be asked this question as they can give a better answer.

“So, this perception that the coach is the selector is not true. Neither was the coach before me a selector nor am I a selector. Five selectors are selected when they come here. If you had called them, they would have given you a better answer to this question," he said (via Hindustan Times).

It remains to be seen whether Rohit will continue to lead the side in the England Tests and whether Kohli will be part of the team.