New Delhi: India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir Defend the Pacers Ardeep Singh after he had an on-field altercation with Darryl Mitchell During the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final, he said he would be “absolutely fine” even if the bowler didn’t apologize after the incident.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The clash took place in New Zealand’s 11th innings of the final in Ahmedabad. After Mitchell smashed two consecutive sixes off Arshdeep, the Indian pacer sent the ball back to the batsman in his subsequent over, and the ball hit Mitchell’s pads.
Although Ashdeep apologized to the New Zealand vice-captain after the match, the International Cricket Council later fined the pacer 15% of his match fee for breaching level one of the International Cricket Federation’s Code of Conduct. One point was also deducted from his disciplinary record.Ashdeep was found guilty of breaching 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 referees Richard Illingworth and Alex Wolfe, as well as third umpire Alahuddin Palek and fourth umpire Adrian Holstock. Match referee Andy Pycroft imposed the penalty, which Ashdeep accepted, eliminating the need for a formal hearing.Gambhir, however, played down the controversy and insisted the bowlers’ reaction was a natural expression of competitive spirit.“It doesn’t matter. You represent your country. You are bound to show aggression. There is nothing wrong with that. No bowler likes to be hit for two sixes. That’s how I want to see my players react. And there are no problems. Or actually, even without saying sorry, I totally agree. I have absolutely no problem with that. He doesn’t need to say sorry. Yes, it’s good for him to apologize. But on the cricket field, there are no friends. There are no enemies either,” Gambhir said in an interview to ANI.He also said these moments are often exaggerated in modern times due to censorship on social media.“Your job is to represent your country. Your job is to win a cricket match for your country. You don’t want to get hit for two sixes. That’s fine. I don’t think we should exaggerate all these things because these things have happened before. Today, things have escalated a lot because of social media,” he added.The incident ended in a historic manner as India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs to win the T20 World Cup for the third time, becoming the first team to defend and win the title on home soil.
