“He won 5 IPL titles, many didn’t even win once” - Did Gautam Gambhir take a sly dig at Virat Kohli while praising Rohit Sharma?

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir hailed Rohit Sharma after the latter led the Men in Blue to victory in the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday. However, while praising the skipper, he also seemed to have taken a sly dig at Rohit’s predecessor Virat Kohli, referring to the former’s IPL title wins.

India hammered Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the Asia Cup 2023 final, lifting the trophy for the eighth time. Bowling first after losing the toss, the Men in Blue rolled over a hapless Sri Lanka for 50 in 15.2 overs. Openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill then raced past the total in just 6.1 overs.

While discussing India’s thumping win over Sri Lanka on Star Sports, Gambhir hailed Rohit and commented:

“There was never a doubt about Rohit the captain. He won 5 IPL titles. Many didn’t even win once.”

While Gambhir did not take any names, many felt that his statement was directed at Kohli. While Rohit has led Mumbai Indians (MI) to five IPL trophies, Kohli has failed to win a single IPL - either as a captain or a player.

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"His real test will come in the next 15 days” - Gambhir on Rohit’s captaincy

Even as Gambhir was highly impressed with Rohit’s captaincy during the Asia Cup, he reckoned that the skipper’s real test is yet to come. The 41-year-old stated:

“His real test will come in the next 15 days. You have your best 15-18 players in the dressing room now. If they cannot deliver, there will be question marks. After every World Cup, if the captain is unable to deliver then questions will be raised. Virat Kohli faced it. Rahul Dravid faced it in 2007."

“If India fail to deliver in 2023, then questions will be raised on Rohit’s captaincy. But this team has the ability to make the World Cup final,” Gambhir opined.

Having dominated the Asia Cup, Rohit and company landed in Mumbai on Monday. Their next assignment will be a three-match ODI series against Australia at home from September 22 to September 27. Subsequently, they will take on the same opposition in their opening World Cup 2023 match in Chennai on October 8.