Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir got involved in a heated exchange after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday, May 1.
While the players were shaking hands after the game, the words were exchanged between LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli. This disagreement did not end there, as Gambhir intervened by pulling away his team’s opening batter Kyle Mayers from a conversation with Kohli. Moments later, Gambhir and his players approached Kohli aggressively, with the injured LSG captain KL Rahul attempting to restrain them. Despite Kohli’s attempt to pacify Gambhir, the chat soon turned hostile, and RCB skipper Faf du Plessis had to step in to separate the two.
Kohli’s animated behaviour throughout the fielding innings during the away match, which RCB successfully defended with the support of more crowd visitors than the hosts, may have been the cause of the altercation.
In the 17th over of the run-chase, when the game was nearly over, Kohli had a heated exchange with Naveen, and Amit Mishra and the umpire had to intervene. Though it is unclear what led to the altercation, there may have been some bad blood between the two sides from a previous encounter.
#ViratKohli This is the moment when whole fight started between Virat Kohli and LSG Gautam Gambhir
Amit Mishra
Naveen ul haq#LSGvsRCB pic.twitter.com/hkId1J33vY— Mehulsinh Vaghela (@LoneWarrior1109) May 1, 2023
Everything after handshake here:
Virat Kohli vs Gautam GambhirBIGGEST RIVALRY IN CRICKET
Entertainment into 100#RCBVSLSG #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/8SxxSKRByn
— ͏ aqqu (@aqquwho) May 1, 2023
Following the altercation, Kohli was seen engaging in a long conversation with Rahul, who had suffered a severe hip flexor injury earlier. He also had cordial chats with LSG allrounder Marcus Stoinis. This demonstrates that despite the tensions on the field, Kohli was able to differentiate between personal issues and professional demeanour with his opponents.
