Hotstar.comWhere there is cricket, there is controversy. And when there is IPL and cricket together, the bar just raises. One of the favourites in the Indian Premier League, RCB has had some interesting and heated controversies over the years. Here is the list of the top five controversies RCB has come through over the years.
1. Starc Vs Pollard: Clash of International stars
The Aussie and West Indian got into an ugly fight in the 2014 edition of the IPL. One of the most honourable mentions whenever we talk about players losing cool in the IPL. The argument started when Mumbai Indian’s all-rounder Pollard failed to hit delivery, to which the RCB pacer responded with some nasty words. However, the West Indian hitter waved him off back to his bowling run-up. On the very next delivery, Starc was stopped just before delivering the ball, which just heated up the entire argument.
Starc didn’t bowl but threw the ball in towards Pollard, to which the MI batter retaliated by throwing his bat towards the RCB pacer. There was a heavy exchange of words between both players. In the aftermath of the game, both players were fined under the IPL Code of Conduct. Pollard has to pay 75% of his match fee, whereas Starc was penalised with half of his match fee.
2. Virat vs Kumar Dharmasena: Skipper against the officials
It is always intense when the team gets into an argument with the match officials. This is exactly what happened in the IPL 2015 edition when Kohli and Dinesh Karthik got into a heated argument with umpire Kumar Dharmasena. The argument started when the match officials agreed on playing the last two overs of the of the Sunrisers Hyderabad innings despite drizzling.
During the fourth ball of the final over, Kohli was unable to collect the ball due to a soapy white ball caused by the rain. He even tried to grab the umpires attention in an attempt to make a point about the wet pitch. By the end of the match, Virat had lost it by then and got into an argument with Kumar Dharmasena, asking him why the match was not stopped even after it was raining. Later, even Dinesh Karthik got involved while the other umpire, Anil Chaudhary, was trying to cool down Virat Kohli.
3. Virat Vs Gambhir: The unexpected blow
The most unexpected yet controversial fight in the history of the IPL is the clash between Indian veteran star opener Gautam Gambhir and current star batter Virat Kohli. The incident took place in an IPL 2023 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
The argument started post-match after Gautam Gambhir was looking furious about what happened between Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli. Lucknow’s team players also tried to clam Gambhir down and take him away from the ground, including KL Rahul. Later on, Virat Kohli was seen explaining the entire situation to Gautam Gambhir. However, Gambhir was still angry.
The IPL committee imposed fine on all the three players – Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq. Both Virat Kohli and Gambhir were fined with 100% of their match fee while Naveen-ul-Haq had to pay 50% of his match fee.
4. Virat Vs Naveen-ul-Haq: The big brawl among cricketers
The big fight that changed the history of controversies in IPL is the heated argument between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq. This ugly incident took place during IPL 2023 during the match between Lucknow Super Giant (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on May 1.
While Naveen was batting for Lucknow during the chase, he got involved in an exchange of words with RCB star batter Virat Kohli. Naveen was unhappy with Kohli’s suggestion that his bowler must bowl some bouncers. KL Rahul played as a mediator to stop the argument. However, it did not end there and just got carried away, taking a worse course when LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir and Kohli got involved in an argument post-match.