When Gautam Gambhir gave his POTM award to Virat Kohli for his maiden ODI century

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir, in conversation with Sportskeeda in December 2023, shared how he gave his Player of the Match trophy to a young Virat Kohli. He made the gesture after Kohli scored his first ODI hundred which helped India beat Sri Lanka in 2009.

Gambhir and Kohli have shared the Indian dressing room for some time as players. Both Delhi batters were part of Team India's victorious 2011 ODI World Cup squad.

Gambhir recalled the game against Sri Lanka in 2009, where Team India chased down 316 runs. The two starred with tons as India won the game with 11 balls to spare. The southpaw was awarded the Player of the Match for his 150-run knock but then ceded it to a young Kohli.

Gambhir said about that moment (from 0:49):

"The reason why I gave it is because I expected the same of my seniors. In performing arts or cricket, the first hundred you score is very important. So when you get the trophy and look at it at home, you will always remember it." (Translated from Hindi).

The 42-year-old added (from 1:47) :

"I remember we chasing over 300 and were down by 2 wickets, losing both Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in Eden Gardens. Virat played an excellent knock and I thought that a young cricketer coming in, I could make this knock special for him."

You can watch the video here:

Gambhir and Kohli stitched together a valuable 83-run partnership in the 2011 ODI World Cup final against Sri Lanka.

Gambhir to coach India for the first time in Test cricket in the 2024 IND vs BAN series

Gautam Gambhir will be overlooking proceedings in Team India's upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.

He had a bittersweet tour of Sri Lanka, where Team India beat the hosts 3-0 in the T20I series but lost 0-2 in the ODI leg.

Team India will take on Bangladesh in the first Test starting Thursday, September 19. The first Test will be played at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.