Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir hug it out during RCB vs KKR clash

Bengaluru superstar batter Virat Kohli and Kolkata’s team mentor Gautam Gambhir seem to have ended their feud from last season as they shook hands during their clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gambhir and Kohli shared a warm hug and shook hands during the strategic time-out in the first innings. Kohli had smashed his 52nd IPL half-century by then as Bengaluru aimed to finish their innings on a high.

Kohli and Gambhir were involved in an ugly on-field spat in IPL 2023 during Bengaluru’s league-stage match against Lucknow. The 2023 incident wasn’t the first time that Kohli and Gambhir clashed on the cricket field. In 2013 when Gambhir was captain of Kolkata and Kohli was leading Bengaluru, the two were involved in a heated argument, even pushing each other before being separated by their



teammates.

Their rivalry re-emerged in 2023 when Kohli was involved in an on-field spat with Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who plays for Lucknow. After the end of the match, Gambhir urged his players to not talk to Kohli and even charged at the India batter, before being stopped by the Lucknow players.

After the match, Gambhir justified his action by saying that he would defend any of his players, adding that players with more social media presence can’t walk over other players.

“It is not about Naveen-ul-Haq. I would have defended any player, that is my job, that is how I am. Why should I not defend my players just because someone has a broadcaster working for him, left right and centre, someone who has more social media presence doesn't have any right to walk over someone,” Gambhir said in 2023.