India’s star batsman Virat Kohli and former opener Gautam Gambhir once again came to the fore as their differences came to the fore during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Supergiants.
RCB’s main batsman Kohli and Lucknow team’s mentor (guide) Gambhir got into an argument with each other after the match played on Monday. RCB won this low-scoring match by 18 runs.
The two were fined 100 per cent of their match fees on Tuesday for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. Kohli’s brief altercation with Lucknow opener Kyle Myers seems to have triggered the fracas. Lucknow bowlers Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli were seen arguing with each other when the players of both the teams were shaking hands after the end of the match and RCB’s Glenn Maxwell separated them from each other. Gambhir then stopped Myers from talking to Kohli.
Soon after, Gambhir was seen walking towards Kohli. Then his other players including Lucknow’s injured captain KL Rahul stopped him. This was followed by a heated argument between Kohli and Gambhir while they were surrounded by players from both the teams. Gambhir looked more aggressive and was repeatedly stopped by the Lucknow players and support staff from making advances towards Kohli. This happened after both of them joined hands.
Kohli was initially seen holding Gambhir’s shoulder but when a heated argument ensued between the two, they were pulled apart by veteran spinner Amit Mishra, RCB captain Faf Duplesey and Lucknow assistant coach and another former Delhi player Vijay Dahiya.
After this clash, Kohli was seen talking to Lucknow captain Rahul. Both Kohli and Gambhir have played together for India and the Delhi team but they have been at loggerheads in the past as well.
Earlier, when the match between Lucknow and RCB was played in Bengaluru, Gambhir was seen gesturing towards the audience to keep quiet. There was also a clash between these two during the match played between RCB and Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru 10 years ago.
Kohli and Gambhir have admitted to breaching the IPL Code of Conduct and have been fined 100 per cent of their match fees, the IPL said in a statement. Lucknow bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has also been fined 50 per cent of his match fee.
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