Former India head coach Ravi Shastri made a shocking statement on the infamous Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli altercation, which took place during an Indian Premier League (IPL) game between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Ravi Shastri said that Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir are icons and should end their continuous showdowns against one another.
As per Ravi Shastri, it would be better if Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir resolved their differences by dialogue, as their fights were not good for the sport.
“I think the penny will drop in a day or two. And they will realize that this could have been handled a lot better. Both play for the same state and they have played enough cricket. Gautam is a double World Cup winner, and Virat is an icon. Both come from Delhi. I think the best thing would be to sit them both down and put an end to it. Once and for all,” Ravi Shastri said.
“Whoever does it, the sooner the better, because you don’t want this to spill off. Carrying on, the next time they meet again there are words exchanged and one thing leads to another. The sooner the better. If I have to do it so be it,” Ravi Shastri elaborated.
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said that he was “ashamed” of the whole episode and it wasn’t “right for cricket”.
“I am ashamed of what I did with Sreesanth in 2008. Virat Kohli is a legend, should not get involved in such things. Whatever happened between Virat and Gambhir was not right for cricket,” he wrote on the microblogging site.
“Virat, you are a big player, there is no need for you to get in a fight with anyone, what is the need for all this? Everyone will start pointing fingers and blame, but all of this is not a good advertisement for cricket. They are such big players, Gambhir is an MP as well, these are my little brothers, and nothing good will come off this. This is all useless,” Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.
“Kids watch you guys play and it is our responsibility being ambassadors of the game that we impart the right image to the younger generation. I hope that my two brothers will hug it out and bury the hatchet. That will be a very positive message for everyone,” he signed off.
The row started during the concluding stages of LSG’s run chase, in the 17th over of their essay, when a charged-up Virat Kohli had a long discussion with the on-field umpires.
A little later, the video of the ugly episode was broadcast on the big screen by Star Sports, the official broadcasters of the premier T20 tournament.
In the footage, Virat Kohli could be seen saying something to Naveen-ul-Haq which resulted in the Afghan player charging towards him. The Delhi-born cricketer, however, was taking none of it as he immediately responded with a tirade of his own before showing his shoe to Naveen-ul-Haq. But it wasn’t exactly clear what the former India captain said.
The nasty scenes during the game didn’t stop there.
After players of the two teams shook hands, Gautam Gambhir charged at Virat Kohli, with the former looking visibly upset with the latter over an issue.
In the viral clip, the RCB superstar argued with the LSG mentor over something before KL Rahul and Vijay Dahiya intervened and separated Gautam Gambhir from Virat Kohli.
For the uninitiated, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli don’t share the best of relationships with each other. The two fought with each during the 2013 IPL when Gautam Gambhir was the skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Since 2013, the relations between the two Delhi-born cricketers have remained frosty.
Last month, when RCB played LSG at their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Gautam Gambhir broke into wild celebrations after his side overhauled a huge total to beat Virat Kohli’s team in their den.
It was followed by a tense handshake between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli before the LSG mentor took a dig at the home crowd by making a “keep quiet” gesture.
Legendary India spinner Anil Kumble and cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra also shared their views on the incident.
“Why does Kohli get so angry and why is Gautam so Gambhir (serious)? No matter what happened in the match, what happened after the match was a bigger commotion – totally avoidable in my opinion. It was payback time and it happened. You (RCB) lost the last match by one wicket and here you won by 18 runs. The scenes after that were not very nice. Personally, it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“You have two great players, of which one is Virat Kohli, the youth icon. You look at him and want to become like him. But when he is part of a constant tussle, you want to become a player like him but what about the … – you get it, right,” the former India opener noted.
Also, Aakash Chopra argued that the ex-RCB skipper was not worthy of being a role model like the legendary MS Dhoni.
“I want to emphasize that the behavior being displayed in front of us is not appropriate for a role model. A role model is someone whom we can aspire to be like and follow in their footsteps. For me, MS Dhoni is the epitome of a role model. When I talk to my kids about role models, I will encourage them to be like Dhoni. That’s all I have to say about this issue,” the former India opener summed up.
“A lot of emotions do go in but you should not be displaying such emotions openly. You may disagree on field, you may have a go at the opposition, you may say things on the field in the heat of the moment. But once the game is over, you just need to shake hands and doff your hat, not to the player but to the game; because that's something you need to respect,” Anil Kumble told JioCinema.
“I don't know what was said, some things may have been personal. That's something you don't want on the cricket field. Both with Virat, Gautam and whoever was involved, it wasn't the nicest thing to see,” Anil Kumble concluded.
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