The ugly spat between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir during an RCB versus LSG’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match sparked discussion over social media, and even the Congress party somehow dragged it into the Karnataka elections. However, people have still not been able to comprehend how an argument between LSG’s Afghani cricketer Naveen Ul Haq and RCB’s Virat Kohli turned into a verbal fight between Kohli and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir.
News agency PTI has now quoted an eyewitness detailing what led to an argument between Gambhir and Kohli at Atal Bihar Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
According to an eyewitness to the heated spat, everything started when LSG’s Kyle Mayers questioned Virat Kohli about why he was continuously abusing him and the rest of the team, and things quickly escalated.
“You saw on TV that Mayers and Virat walked side by side for a few metres after the game. Mayers questioned Kohli about why he was continually abusing them, and Virat, in turn, queried why Mayers was staring at him. “Previously, (Amit) Mishra had complained to the umpire about Virat constantly abusing Naveen ul-Haq,” the eyewitness told PTI.
When Gautam Gambhir saw Mayers and Kohli arguing, he intervened by pulling Mayers aside. The eyewitness then recounts exactly what Kohli and Gambhir said to each other during the heated exchange.
“What were you saying, say it now (kya bol raha hai bol),” Gambhir asked. To this, Kohli replied, “I didn’t say anything to you, why are you intervening (maine aapko kuch bola hi nahin, aap kyun ghus rahe ho)?”
This, however, did not go well with Gambhir who in turn said that “If you have abused my team player then you have abused my family (tune agar mere player ko gaali di hai matlab tune meri family ko gaali di hai).” Even Kohli did not back out as he responded, “Then you look after your family (toh apni family ko sambhal ke rakhiye)”. Lastly, Gambhir said, “So now you will teach me (toh ab tu mujhe sikhayega).”
The altercation happened after RCB had bowled LSG out for 108 after scoring 126/9 in 20 overs, with KL Rahul batting through a leg injury in an unsuccessful attempt to take his side to victory. After the match ended, the two shook hands and things looked fine. However, Both the cricketers have been fined 100 percent of their match fees. In addition to this, Naveen Ul Haq was also fined 50 percent of his match fees for breaching the Code of Conduct. Naveen-ul-Haq admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct.