Gautam Gambhir didn’t hold back after India lost the ODI series to Australia. The head coach called out Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma publicly. He said individual performances mean nothing when the team loses badly. His comments surprised many people in the cricket world.
India won the T20I series 2-1 against Australia earlier. But they couldn’t get the same result in the ODI matches. The series loss hurt India’s confidence ahead of bigger tournaments coming up.
First Two ODIs Were Disasters for India
The opening ODI was a nightmare for both senior players. Kohli got out for a duck without scoring any runs. Rohit managed only 8 runs before walking back to the pavilion. India lost that match by a huge margin after this poor start.
Things didn’t improve much in the second ODI either for the team. Kohli failed again and scored another duck in that game. Rohit played better and made 73 runs this time around. But his knock wasn’t enough to save India from another loss.
Third ODI Win Couldn’t Save the Series
India finally won the third ODI convincingly against Australia there. Rohit scored his 50th international century in that match, which was special. Kohli scored 74* runs and batted brilliantly throughout. Both players put together a massive partnership that won the game.
But Gambhir wasn’t happy despite this victory at all. He said celebrating personal records after losing the series makes no sense. The coach believes team results matter more than individual milestones always.
“I think I’ve always been a believer that it’s not about the individual performances. Yes, I can be very happy with the individual performances. Yes, and I will always remain happy with individual performance, but ultimately, it’s a loss to the ODI Series.”
“That’s the bottom line, and I can never celebrate a series loss as a coach. As a player, I can appreciate individuals, but as a coach, I think it is my moral responsibility that we as a nation and we as individuals should never, never celebrate a series loss. Ultimately, we are representing the country. Yes, the T20 series was different. We won the series,” Gambhir said.
Focus Shifts to Future Tournaments Now
Gambhir wants everyone to learn from this series loss quickly. He’s already thinking about the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 preparations. The team needs to work on playing together rather than individual glory. Senior players must lead by winning series for India going forward.
