Gautam Gambhir angry at Jay Shah for punishing Arshdeep Singh over Daryl Mitchell incident

Arshdeep Singh suddenly found himself in hot water as the International Cricket Council (ICC), headed by Jay Shah, accused him of being guilty of the heated moment with the New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell during the T20 World Cup 2026 Final match. The ICC issued a penalty and a demerit point for breaking the code of conduct.

In contrast to the ICC's decision, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir supports the pacer in taking action against the opposing team batter. For Gambhir, players can go aggressive in pressure situations, and it's all part of the game.

Gautam Gambhir paid full support to Arshdeep Singh

During a recent conversation with the news agency ANI, Gautam Gambhir showed his full support to Arshdeep Singh, saying there was nothing wrong with it, as he wanted to see that kind of response from his players.

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“You are representing your country; you are bound to show aggression. There is nothing wrong with that. If you throw it back, what is wrong with doing that? No bowler likes to get hit for two sixes. And that is the kind of response I want to see from my players”, Gautam Gambhir responded.

#WATCH | "...You are representing your country and are bound to show aggression. There is nothing wrong with it...That is the kind of response that I want to see from my players...I was fine even if Arshdeep Singh had not apologised to Daryl Mitchell..." says Head Coach of Team… pic.twitter.com/ANm5Jwf8xC

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2026

Arshdeep Singh said sorry to Daryl Mitchell

Later, Arshdeep apologized to the batter for showing anger at him by throwing the ball. In the 11^th over of the second innings of the summit clash, when New Zealand was chasing a target of 256, the pacer lost his cool. Arshdeep’s throw hit the thigh pad of Daryl Mitchell, which sparked the controversy.

The batter instantly protested, delivering a few words to the bowler. India captain Suryakumar Yadav stepped in to calm the situation. The field umpire also came to manage the situation. Gambhir said that if Arshdeep did not apologize, he would still support him for showing the intention.

He doesn't need to say sorry: Gautam Gambhir

“And that there is nothing wrong. Or, in fact, even if he doesn't apologize, I was absolutely fine with it. I was absolutely fine. He doesn't need to say sorry. Yes, it's good for him that he apologized. But on a cricket field, there are no friends. Neither are there any enemies,” Gambhir further told.

“Your job is to represent your country. Your job is to win a game of cricket for your country. I thought we should not blow this out of proportion because these things used to happen earlier as well. Today, because of social media, you escalate it a lot. There is no need for that,” he continued.

On March 10, through an official press release, ICC informed about their steps against the Indian seamer. According to the council, Arshdeep Singh was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment) at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match.” He has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.

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