[Watch] Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir picks Virat Kohli as 'Shahensha' of cricket

Team India's head coach Gautam Gambhir was recently asked to pick the 'Shahensha' of cricket during the ongoing Delhi Premier League (DPL). The two-time World Cup winner picked ace batter Virat Kohli for the moniker.

It is worth mentioning that Gambhir supported Kohli a lot during the latter's early years in the national team. The southpaw even gave away his Player of the Match to a young Kohli after India chased down 316 runs against Sri Lanka in an ODI.

Being fierce competitors, the two did have some heated exchanges in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years. However, Kohli and Gambhir let bygones by bygones and were seen sharing a hug during IPL 2024.

Apart from giving Kohli the 'Shahensha' tag, Gambhir picked Yuvraj Singh as the 'Badshah' of cricket, while he chose Sourav Ganguly for 'Tiger' and Jasprit Bumrah for 'Khiladi'.

Interestingly, when asked to name the 'Angry young man', Gautam Gambhir chose himself. The video of the segment was shared by sports presenter Shefali Bagga on her social media handles on Wednesday, September 11.

You can watch the clip below:

The aforementioned segment also featured former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, who hailed Virat Kohli as the 'Badshah of cricket', while giving the 'Shahensha' tag to Jasprit Bumrah.

---

Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as India's head coach was a mixed bag

Gautam Gambhir was appointed as India's head coach after Rahul Dravid's stint ended following the Men in Blue's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. Gambhir's first assignment was the team's white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.

The 42-year-old's tenure kicked off with a 3-0 T20I series whitewash. However, the subsequent ODI series was a disappointing one for India. The opening encounter ended in a tie, while Sri Lanka won the remaining two matches, clinching their first ODI series victory over India in 27 years.

Gambhir's maiden red-ball assignment in the role will be the upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh. The first Test is set to be played in Chennai from September 19.