Over two seasons have passed since the fiery clash between two veteran India players- Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, who was involved in a heated argument at the end of the game between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
The Lucknow bowler Amit Mishra was present at the crease when the incident started between their pacer Naveen Ul Haq and Kohli. At the end of the game, the disagreement continued between Virat and Gambhir, which forced their teammates to intervene.
Later, during the last season, Gambhir moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to become their mentor, as he shook hands and hugged Virat Kohli to end the long-lasting controversy.
A lot of things could have been avoided but Virat Kohli decided not to: Amit Mishra
The former India bowler Amit Mishra, during a recent podcast, has revealed what exactly happened that evening. The veteran spinner has stated that the start of the story happened in Bengaluru during the reverse fixture when Gambhir had done the ‘finger on his mouth’ gesture towards the local fans after his team scripted a memorable victory at the end.
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‘It all started in Bengaluru where we (LSG) won the game and Gambhir expressed his aggression. The public was going mad so Gautam gestured them to keep quiet.’ Mishra commented. ‘Probably Virat Kohli didn’t like that. We thought the matter ended with the game but not for Kohli.’
According to Mishra, Virat Kohli wasn’t happy with such a gesture of Gambhir and started to abuse the Lucknow players when they met again in Ekana. The bowler feels that the former India captain could have avoided such things but he decided not to.
‘He started abusing our players (During the LSG vs RCB rematch in Lucknow).’ The 41-year-old expressed. ‘He didn’t have any grudges with Kyle Myers but he abused him as well. Naveen-ul-Haq was bowling, he would abuse him too. Bohot cheezein avoid ho sakti thi but Virat Kohli ne nahi ki.’
The altercation never started with Gambhir, because it was towards Naveen Ul Haq, who was batting with Amit Mishra himself. When the incident started to take place, the leg spinner tried to calm things down, but Virat told him to explain the same to his partner.
‘When I was batting with Naveen, I asked Kohli, ‘Who are you even talking to He’s just a youngster and not even close to your stature.’ Amit Mishra elaborated. ‘Whatever happened has happened.’ He answered back, saying, ‘You make him understand that, not me.’
The Delhi-born also claimed that Virat Kohli didn’t calm down after the match and continued to abuse the Afghanistan pacer, and that was the moment when Gambhir decided to intervene.
‘But the problem began after the game. He (Kohli) started abusing him again during the customary handshakes. That’s when Gambhir intervened, questioning why are you starting it again when the game has ended and you guys have won.’ Mishra explained. ‘I moved Gambhir away but Naveen later came to the dressing and said that Kohli started abusing again.’
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It was during the ODI World Cup 2023 when Virat asked the Delhi fans not to troll the bowler when India was facing Afghanistan. Both Kohli and Naveen shook hands, which as per Mishra is only for social media.
‘For social media, it all seemed to be over between them. But do you think Naveen will respect Kohli ever again? What about the youngsters who saw the incident where a big star was abusing others.’ Amit Mishra concluded.
Gautam Gambhir has become the new India head coach and is expected to work with Virat Kohli during the ODI leg in Sri Lanka.