10 years after their first on-field tussle in the IPL, Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir produced a thrilling, dramatic incident earlier in the IPL 2023 season as the two stars clashed in a heated verbal duel following the completion of the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow.
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were handed 100 percent match fees fine and Naveen-ul-Haq 50 percent match fee penatly.
During the match, after taking catches, Virat Kohli was seen doing the shushing, finger on lips gesture, reprising what Gambhir did after winning the match in Bangalore in the first leg. Kohli and Naveen also had a heated altercation. Then, when Kyle Mayers was chatting with Virat Kohli, Gambhir pulled the LSG opener away from the RCB star. Moments later, Gambhir could be seen charging aggressively toward Kohli before both came close to each other and threw some verbal vollies before both were separated by a few people of both camps.
This incident has blown up in the media with a number of ex and current cricketers making their opinions public.
Here are 3 players or ex-cricketers who have sided with Virat Kohli in his spat with Gautam Gambhir:
Manoj Tiwary
Former KKR batsman and a teammate of Gambhir’s, Manoj Tiwary has stated that such incidents and show of aggression tarnished Gambhir’s legacy.
“Healthy competition is good for the sport but not incidents like these,” Tiwary said on Cricbuzz. “When icons quit cricket, people want to remember them for what they have done on the field rather than other things. People mostly will remember Gambhir for his aggression, that will be the first thing that will come to their mind. They will forget that he has played a major role in India winning two World Cups. This should not happen. This is not the right example to set.”
Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis was clear in his statement that this is how Virat Kohli plays his cricket – hard and fair – and he didn’t mind that verbal scuffle of Kohli with Gambhir.
“That is the version of Virat. You see him pumped up like that when he is at his best. It is really awesome to be a part of it. My job is to keep things calm on the field which I believe I did really well,” Faf said.
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag, a former teammate of both Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, reckoned the losing team – that was Lucknow Super Giants -should have remained mum and should have behaved more gracefully than they did.
“I switched off the TV once the match got over. I had no idea about what happened after the match. The next day when I woke up, I saw a lot of chaos on social media. What happened wasn’t right. The loser should quietly accept defeat and walk away and the winning team should celebrate,” Sehwag said.
