Gautam Gambhir and Arshdeep Singh (Image credit: Instagram)
New Delhi: India coach Gautam Gambhir strongly defended pacer Arshdeep Singh after his on-field altercation with Daryl Mitchell during the final match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, saying he would have been “absolutely fine” even if the player had not apologized after the incident.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The flashpoint occurred in the eleventh over of New Zealand’s innings final in Ahmedabad. After Mitchell smashed Arshdeep for two successive sixes, the Indian pacer sent the ball in his follow-up and swung it back towards the batsman, with the ball hitting Mitchell on the pads.
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Although Arshdeep apologized to the New Zealand vice-captain after the match, the International Cricket Council later fined the player 15 per cent of his match fee for a level one violation of the ICC Code of Conduct.
One demerit point was also added to his disciplinary record.Arshdeep was found guilty of violating Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to throwing the ball at or near a player in an inappropriate or dangerous manner during an international match. The charge was made by on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharfe, along with third umpire Allahuddin Ballyker and fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock.
Match referee Andy Beecroft imposed the penalty which Arshdeep accepted, eliminating the need for a formal hearing.However, Gambhir downplayed the controversy and insisted that the player’s reaction was a natural expression of competitive spirit.
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How do you view the impact of social media on the cricket debate?
“It’s okay. You’re representing your country. You’re bound to show aggression. There’s nothing wrong with that. No player likes to be hit for two sixes. That’s the kind of response I want to see from my players.”
And there is nothing wrong. Or actually, even if the apology wasn’t made, I was completely okay with it. I was completely fine. He doesn’t have to say sorry. Yes, it’s good for him that he apologized. But on the cricket field, there are no friends.
There are no enemies,” Gambhir said in an interview with ANI.He also noted that such moments are often amplified in the modern era due to social media scrutiny.“Your job is to represent your country. Your job is to win a cricket match for your country. You don’t want to get beaten for sixes. That was good. I thought we shouldn’t go overboard with all these things because these things used to happen before. Today, because of social media, things are escalating a lot,” he added.The incident came in a match that ended in historic fashion for India, as the hosts thrashed New Zealand by 96 runs to lift their third T20 World Cup title – becoming the first team to defend the trophy and win it on home soil.