The 43rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 saw Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday (May 2). Although the match was a low-scoring affair and RCB registered a comprehensive 18-run victory over LSG, the venue turned into an extreme battleground witnessing a heated argument between RCB star Virat Kohli and a few other LSG team members.
The verbal spat took place after the match when LSG pacer Naveen ul Haq had an exchange of words with Virat. Soon after, the Lucknow-based team mentor Gautam Gambhir was seen intervening and pulling away his opening batter, Kyle Mayers, while the latter was having an intense discussion with Virat. Later, Gambhir also lost his cool and charged aggressively towards the former India captain, which led to an absolute ruckus on the field. On the other hand, Virat seemed to explain things to the veteran India cricketer before RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and Lucknow spinner Amit Mishra separated him.
The incident became a major talking point on the internet, with netizens reacting to the ugly fight in large numbers. While some called out Virat for his aggressive behaviour, many slammed Naveen for his arrogance. Amidst all this, the official Twitter handle of RCB also shared a video in which Virat reacted strongly to the win and also had his say on the on-field verbal spat.
In the clip, Virat can be heard saying, “If you can give it, you gotta take it.”
“Otherwise don’t give it,” he added.
Here’s the video:
LSG v RCB, Game Day Dressing Room Reactions
King Kohli reacts to the win, Faf explains the crucial partnership and how Virat’s aggression helps the team, Karn and Hazlewood talk about their performances, before the team sang the victory song. Watch Game Day for more…#PlayBold pic.twitter.com/Jr0kCzYoIa
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 2, 2023
Notably, Virat referred to the animated celebrations of LSG players that they pulled off in their previous fixture against RCB at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
The 34-year-old also even took to his official Instagram story and responded to his critics by sharing a quote from famous Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius that read: “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
