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'Virat Kohli Is Hungry': Gautam Gambhir Gambhir Gives Stern Warning To Australia And New Zealand

Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X.com]Gautam Gambhir on Virat Kohli [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X.com]

India head coach Gautam Gambhir is not too concerned about the recent lukewarm form of Virat Kohli, insisting that the star batter remains as hungry as he was when he made his debut and should not be judged after every match.

Kohli has made only one fifty, a 76 against South Africa at Centurion in December 2023, in his last eight innings, and him regaining his touch is crucial for India against New Zealand in a three-Test rubber starting on Wednesday and during the five-match series against Australia next month.

Gambhir Confident About Virat Kohli

"See, my thoughts about Virat have always been very clear that he is a world-class cricketer. He has performed for such a long period of time. He is as hungry as when he made his debut. To now, his hunger is always there," Gambhir told reporters here on Monday.

"That hunger is what makes him a world-class cricketer. I am sure that he will be hungry to get runs in this series and probably moving forward to Australia as well," he added.

Gambhir said the prolific batter, once he gets into "those runs scoring phases", is remarkably consistent.

"So, I am sure that he will be looking for these three Test matches in the series and then to Australia."

Gautam Gambhir reiterated his opinion that a player should not to be judged on the basis of a one bad match or a series.

"You don't keep judging people after every game. If you keep judging people after every game, that's not fair on them. It's a sport and people are bound to fail. But more importantly, I think if we can get the results, if people are doing what is needed of them to get the results in our favour, that is fine," he noted.

Virat Kohli Performance In Bangladesh Test 

India clinched a 2-0 victory in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home. The second Test in Kanpur was especially thrilling, with persistent rain pushing the game to the final day, where India showcased impressive performances with both bat and ball.

Kohli had a relatively quiet series, scoring 99 runs across four innings. However, he gave occasional glimpses of his brilliance with well-timed strokes and elegant shot selection. In India’s last innings of the series, Kohli remained unbeaten on 29 off 37 balls, helping the team chase down the target by the second session in Kanpur.

The star batter also reached a significant milestone during the series, becoming the fastest player to score 27,000 international runs. He achieved the feat in 594 innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, who had reached the mark in 623 innings.

[PTI Inputs]