On May 1, during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) game featuring Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli got into an altercation on the field.
“Man who ran away from Delhi Cricket citing “pressure” seems over eager to sell paid PR as concern for cricket!,” said Gambhir. Yehi Kalyug Hei, Jahan Bhagode Apni Court Chalate Hai (This is Kalyug where ‘fugitives’ run their ‘court’,”) he added.
Man who ran away from Delhi Cricket citing “pressure” seems over eager to sell paid PR as concern for cricket! यही कलयुग़ है जहां ‘भगोड़े’ अपनी ‘अदालत’ चलाते हैं।
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) May 3, 2023
On May 3, just two days following the match, Gambhir posted a cryptic message on Twitter that appeared to be directed at a former president of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) who is also a renowned news writer and is said to have criticized Gambhir for his fight with Kohli. In a furious tweet, Gambhir caused a stir on Twitter by labeling the remarks as “Paid PR.”
Rajat sharma 🗣️ "Gautam Gambhir is jealous of Virat Kohli's success. He's not able to digest the fact that Kohli is far better than him." #GTvsDC #LSGvsRCB #gautamgambhir #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/TetWN2QbOh
— Bharggav Roy 🇮🇳 (@Bharggavroy) May 3, 2023
Both of Gambhir and Kohli received 100% of their respective game earnings as punishment for the scandal. Speaking of the event, Kohli and Naveen-Ul-Haq got into a fight on the pitch when the Afghan player was batting in the dying moments of the game. When the fight spilled over into the handshakes after the game, Gambhir made the decision to get involved.
The cricket community was stunned to see Kohli and Gambhir batting together. The franchise in Lucknow is coached by Gambhir. At Chinnaswamy Stadium earlier in the season, Gambhir performed an index finger at the lip signal to the crowd following LSG’s one-wicket victory over RCB.
In response Virat Kohli went on to replicate the same at LSG’s home ground and after the match, he locked horns with 2-time IPL winning captain with Kolkata Knight Riders Gautam Gambhir. The infamous feud led Indian Journalist Rajat Sharma to say that Gambhir is basically jealous of Kohli’s success and the former should have never done that.
