Gautam Gambhir has come out in strong support of Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh following the incident involving Daryl Mitchell during the World Cup final. Arshdeep, who was hit for two consecutive sixes in the 11th over, threw the ball back toward the batter in his follow-through, leading to a heated exchange. Despite Arshdeep apologizing to the New Zealand vice-captain after the match, the ICC handed him a 15% match fee fine and one demerit point for a Level 1 breach of the Code of Conduct.

Gambhir, however, dismissed the controversy. “I think it is fine to be aggressive when representing your country. There is nothing wrong with it. No bowler likes to be hit for back-to-back sixes. I want to see that aggression from the players. He didn’t even need to apologize, though he did it out of personal courtesy. On the cricket field, there are no friends or enemies,” Gambhir stated. He further blamed the excessive hype created by social media for turning a minor on-field incident into a major debate, asserting that such matters do not deserve extensive discussion.