The member of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Krishnappa Gowtham, looked back at the famous verbal battle between Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq, where things went from bad to worse during the 2023 season of the tournament at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow during their game against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
After the end of the contest, where the tourists fell on the positive side, the LSG mentor, Gautam Gambhir, was spotted arguing with Kohli after the former Indian opener separated Kyle Mayers from Virat when both of them were interacting at the end of the encounter.
Naveen, Gambhir, and Kohli had to pay a huge price for being charged guilty of the offense of breaching the IPL’s code of conduct that evening. Even though both the Indian batter and the Afghanistan bowler had sorted it out during the 2023 ODI World Cup in Delhi, what happened exactly is yet to be disclosed.
Krishnappa Gowtham claims shocker on the heated moment between Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq
Krishnappa Gowtham, the off-spinner, was part of the Lucknow dressing room in that game, and he opened up recently on the incident, which he found quite normal between two aggressive and fierce characters inside the field.
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“It’s a part and parcel of the game. It happened due to the heat of the moment. Virat being Virat, we all know the passion he has. He wants to win, no matter what. Likewise, Naveen is a fighter. I think these kinds of banters happen in high-pressure games.” The Karnataka-born expressed this in an exclusive interview with CricTracker.
The Indian spinner reckoned that something in the heat of the moment, the adrenaline could be high, which would sometimes create this situation between two people who want to win the game, and that had been quite natural on the cricket field.
“That is the beauty of the sport. It lets the emotions out. Sometimes you can control it but, sometimes you can’t. When your adrenaline is high, it’s high.” Krishnappa Gowtham revealed during the conversation. “It was banter, and a lot of people talked about it but, it was just two top athletes competing with each other and wanting to win the game for their respective teams.”
The same sort of incident also took place in the reverse fixture between the two teams at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where Gambhir was seen putting the finger in the mouth after their side held their nerve in an intense and narrow win in the last over thanks to the crazy drive from Avesh Khan while running between the wicket.
Having worked with Gambhir for a couple of seasons on the LSG side, Krishnappa Gowtham shared his experience of working with Gambhir, who later shifted to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The right-hander felt that the current Indian head coach is a straightforward character.
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“GG bhai is someone who is upfront. He will tell you the way exactly it is, how to prepare yourself for high-pressure games. He knows how to get the best out of the players. The way he talks to a player, the way he motivates. it’s a different ballgame.” The Bengaluru-born shaded light.
“He makes sure that everyone is comfortable. The other thing is that he makes sure what is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. He will also never sugarcoat things. He is straight on your face, whatever it is.” Krishnappa Gowtham concluded.