During the IPL 2023 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), an incident occurred when cameras captured a heated exchange between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.
The altercation occurred after RCB defended a low score to defeat LSG at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. While some believe that the confrontation could have been avoided, given their history of altercations, it was perhaps inevitable that such an incident would occur.
Kohli and Gambhir, who hail from Delhi and have played for the Indian national team and the Delhi state team together, have a well-known history of mutual dislike for each other.
Despite their past association, the two cricketers have been involved in several altercations. During the latest confrontation, Kohli initially held Gambhir’s shoulder, and the two players engaged in a war of words. Experienced spinner Amit Mishra, RCB captain Faf du Plessis and LSG assistant coach Vijay Dahiya intervened to separate the two players. Following the altercation, Kohli was spotted conversing with LSG captain KL Rahul.
An eyewitness present in one of the team dugouts during the incident has now shed light on the altercation. According to a report by news agency PTI, the confrontation between Kohli and Gambhir was intense, with both players exchanging heated words. The eyewitness further revealed that the altercation escalated quickly, and several players had to step in to prevent the situation from getting out of hand.
“You saw on TV that Mayers and Virat were walking side by side for a few metres post match. Mayers asked Kohli why was he constantly abusing them and Virat, in turn, questioned why was he (Mayers) ‘staring’ at him? Before that (Amit) Mishra had complained to umpire about Virat constantly abusing Naveen (ul-Haq), who is a No. 10 batter,” the source told PTI.
“Gautam, sensing that things could turn ugly, pulled Mayers and told him not to have a conversation, when Virat made a comment. The heated exchange that followed seemed a bit juvenile.”
“Gautam asked ‘Kya bol raha hain bol’ (What were you saying?) and Virat replied, ‘Maine aapko kuch bola hi nahi, aap kyon ghus rahein ho?’ (Why are you coming in between when I haven’t told you anything?).
“Gautam responded, ‘Tuney agar mere player ko bola hai, matlab tune meri family ko gaali diya hai. (You abused my player and that’s like abusing my family) and Virat’s reply was, ‘Toh aap apne family ko sambhal ke rakhiye’. (Then you take care of your family).
“Gambhir’s final reply before they were separated was, ‘Toh ab tu mujhe sikhayega…’ (So now I have to learn from you…).”
The incident has sparked a debate among cricket fans and experts, with some questioning the behaviour of the two players on the field.
