Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli have a rich history with one another and in the aftermath of the IPL 2023 instance, even bad blood. However, after the recent IPL 2024 match between RCB and DC in Bengaluru, Ganguly was seen showing the ultimate mark of respect for Virat Kohli.
This bad blood stemmed from Virat Kohli’s controversial removal as India’s ODI captain after he had quit the T20I captaincy in 2021. All this happened during Sourav Ganguly’s tenure as BCCI President and since then there has been a rift between the two parties.
A year ago, during the IPL 2023 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (then Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli walked past Ganguly, DC’s director of cricket, and gave him a death stare. The former India opener bypassed the post-match queue to avoid shaking hands with the RCB batter.
Virat Kohli says ‘Thank You’ to Sourav Ganguly after he shook hands and smiled at him
But then in the return fixture in Delhi, Ganguly and Kohli decided to bury the hatchet and shook hands. A year later, the equation between the two remained unchanged, as Ganguly paid his last respects to Kohli following RCB’s resounding victory against DC at home.
As the players and support personnel of the two teams gathered for the post-match handshake routine, Ganguly removed his cap before meeting Kohli and even praised him, to which the latter replied with a ‘Thank you’ and a smile. The former India captain later put on his cap when he met the rest of the RCB team.
Here is the video:
— The Game Changer (@TheGame_26) May 13, 2024
The win over DC was RCB’s fifth consecutive victory in the ongoing IPL 2024 competition, propelling them to fifth place in the points table and keeping them in contention for the playoffs. Delhi, who were without Rishabh Pant for the match due to his suspension by the BCCI for violating the IPL Code of Conduct, dropped to sixth place.
RCB will face CSK in their last league match in Bengaluru on Saturday, while Delhi Capitals’ last match will be against Lucknow Super Giants in Delhi on May 14.