Gambhir unhappy with Indian, Pakistan players' friendly chat during Asia Cup

Gautam Gambhir expressed his disapproval when he witnessed Indian and Pakistani players engaging in a friendly conversation during the Asia Cup clash on Saturday.

During the rain-induced interruption, players from both teams were seen sharing light moments with each other. However, Gambhir found himself perplexed by the camaraderie among the players.

"When you play on the field for your national team, you must leave the friendship outside the boundary ropes. Game face hona zaroori hai. Dosti bahaar rehni chahiye. (It is important to have a game face. The friendship can remain outside during the match). There has to be an aggression in the eyes of both sets of players. You can be as friendly as you want after those six or seven hours of cricket," Gambhir said on Star Sports.

"Those hours are very important, because you're not just representing yourself, you're representing a nation of over a billion. These days you see players of rival teams patting each other on the back and exchanging fist bumps during a match. You would never see that a few years ago. Aap friendly match hi khel rahe ho,” he added.

Gambhir is very clear about the basics of game and how cricket should be played. Stop giving smooches to opponents. I think those playing for their images should stay only in #Pakistan Dugout during #AsiaCup2023
That’s why
#Gautamgambhir>>>>>Kohli+Rohit#PAKvIND #AsiaCup #kohli pic.twitter.com/FRynKBFKAr

— ck (@Ck2903Ck) September 2, 2023

Gambhir said that it's acceptable to engage in some banter on the field but cautioned against going too far.

"(You can) sledge, but don't get personal. You have to stay within your limits. Don't involve someone's family member or get too personal. Banter is fine. In games against Australia and Pakistan, there used to be banter," he said.

Rain meant Pakistan was unable to bat after bowling out India for 266 and the points were shared between both teams. Hence, Pakistan secured a spot in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup, while India would face Nepal on Monday to determine the second team to advance from Group A to the Super 4 stage.