The recent altercation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, two members of India’s World Cup-winning team, was an unpleasant sight after an IPL 2023 match. The incident not only marred a low-scoring match in an otherwise high-scoring tournament but also presented a bleak picture of the two, which fans are not unfamiliar with.
To understand the reason behind their confrontation after the match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore, one needs to look deeper and go back to the previous encounter between the two teams on April 10.
This is not the first time that Kohli and Gambhir have had a spat, as they had a heated argument in 2013. In the recent match, Kohli also had a heated exchange with Naveen-ul-Haq in the 17th over, and at the end of the game, he exchanged words with the Afghanistan pacer as the two teams greeted each other.
The altercation between Kohli and Gambhir was the most talked-about topic following RCB’s 18-run victory.
According to a report from PTI, a spectator who witnessed the on-field altercation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir has disclosed that Gambhir cautioned the former RCB captain not to say anything to his players, who he considers as his ‘family’. Kohli responded by advising Gambhir to keep his ‘family’ away.
The altercation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir after the match appeared to have been instigated by a brief exchange between Kohli and Lucknow Super Giants opener Kyle Mayers. During the post-match handshake, there was a verbal exchange between LSG bowler Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli, and RCB’s Glenn Maxwell had to intervene and separate them.
Conversation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. (Reported by TOI). pic.twitter.com/ClGxkDeiQQ
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 2, 2023
According to another report, Virat Kohli was accused of causing damage to the pitch by walking on it wearing fielding spikes. This could create marks on the pitch, which could result in an uneven bounce, thus hampering the batsmen’s strategy. This may be why the cameraman captured Kohli showing the dust on his shoes to Naveen and the umpires, indicating that his shoes did not cause any marks on the pitch.