Gautam Gambhir 'Absolutely Fine' With Arshdeep Singh Throwing Ball At NZ Star During T20 World Cup Final. Here's Why

A couple of days after the T20 World Cup final, star pacer Arshdeep Singh was fined 15% of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a Level 1 breach of the Code of Conduct. The incident happened during India's ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday. In the 11th over of New Zealand's innings, after fielding the ball, Arshdeep threw it towards batter Daryl Mitchell. The throw struck Mitchell's pads and the player was angry. Later, Arshdeep apologised to the star.

But even if he hadn't apologised, Indian cricket team coach Gautam Gambhir would not have minded. "If you are representing your country, you are bound to show aggression. There is no wrong there. If you throw back, what's wrong in doing that? No bowler feels good after getting hit for two sixes. That is the kind of response I want to see from my players," Gambhir said during a chat with ANI.

"If he had not said sorry, I was absolutely fine with it. He does not need to say sorry. It's good on him that he said sorry. But on the cricket field there are no friends or enemies. Your job is to represent your country. Your job is to win a game of cricket for your country. You should not blow these things out of proportion because these things used to happen before too."

Gambhir has hit out at the "toxic" culture of social media, labelling it as a place that gives way for false narratives driven by "views and likes."

Gambhir said that one of the key reasons behind India's successful campaign at the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was keeping players away from social media and outside distractions. He explained that the team intentionally reduced "outside noise" during the tournament, especially the pressure created by public expectations and online criticism. He also said that social media has become toxic and often spreads negativity.

"One of the most important things, even during this campaign, which we had during the World Cup, was how much we cut the outside noise. Because there was so much talk about expectations, so much outside noise. So I think it was very important for me, and I think it was very important for the boys, to be away from social media, and I'm glad they were able to do that for the last one month," he said.

Gambhir added that players are human and naturally make mistakes, so it was important for him as coach to shield them from criticism as much as possible. He said that by staying away from social media, the players were able to focus better on their performance.

"You see how much social media criticism there is. You can try as much as you want that outside noise is blocked, but it is humanly not possible in today's times. Social media has become so toxic. Players are humans as well. They are allowed to make mistakes. They are bound to make mistakes. Mistakes are normal in life. For me, as a shield, as far as I can keep them away from that criticism, I think that was very important," Gambhir said

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Arshdeep Singh Gautam Gambhir T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket