Gautam Gambhir Renames Virat Kohli as Most Important and Names Jasprit Bumrah with the Same Tag; MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma Left out

Despite Virat Kohli expressing his discomfort with being called "king" and encouraging his fans to stop using the term, the former India captain continues to be affectionately referred to as such by his supporters and the media. However, the new India head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has a different nickname in mind for Kohli.

Speaking on Delhi Premier League T20's social media page on the sidelines of the tournament, Gambhir found himself in the midst of a ‘Bollywood x cricket’ game, wherein, he had to name an Indian cricketer, former or active, who is most fitting to a movie title or character.

While he picked Kohli as 'Shahenshah,' the movie title of an Amitabh Bachchan-starer Bollywood classic, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was given the "most important" tag. Meanwhile, both former India captain MS Dhoni and incumbent skipper Rohit Sharma were ignored for any of the titles.

Badshah: Yuvraj Singh.

Angry Young Man: Myself.

Dabang: Sachin Tendulkar.

Shahenshah: Virat Kohli.

Khiladi: Jasprit Bumrah. One more thing, 'Khiladi' is more important than all these.

Mr. Perfectionist: Rahul Dravid.

Gabbar: Shikhar Dhawan.

Tiger: Sourav Ganguly.

A post shared by Shefali Bagga (@shefalibaggaofficial)

One of the major concerns raised after Gambhir's appointment as the head coach in July was his relationship with Kohli, given their share of on-field run-ins, especially in IPL. The most recent incident was in IPL 2023, when the Gambhir, then mentor of Lucknow Super Giants, and Kohli had to be pulled apart by other players after an ugly spat at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium following RCB's win. However, they shared a friendly hug and a small chat when Gambhir and Kohli came face-to-face during IPL 2024.

In July, in his first presser as India's new head coach, Gambhir assured that they are both "on the same page" when it came to aiming for a common goal for the Indian team.

"What kind of relationship do I share with Virat Kohli, I think it is between two mature individuals. On the field, everyone has got the right to fight for their own team, for their own jersey, and want to come back in a winning dressing room. But, at the moment, I think you are representing India and representing 140 crore Indians and I am sure we are going to be on the same page and try and make India proud," he said.

"I share a very good relationship off the field and we will continue to do that. But yes, to make it more public what kind of a relationship [we have] I think it is between two individuals."

The two were all smiles when they reunited ahead of the ODI series in Sri Lanka last month.