Two-time World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh mercilessly trolled premier Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Gautam Gambhir after their infamous verbal spat continued to make headlines around the world.

Taking a cheeky dig at Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh tweeted: “I think #Sprite should sign #Gauti and #Cheeku for their campaign #ThandRakh what say guys? @GautamGambhir @imVkohli @Sprite.”

Yuvraj Singh's social media post soon went viral on the microblogging platform.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness unveiled shocking details of the fight between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir that erupted during a recent Indian Premier League (IPL) game in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

“Lucknow Super Giants’ Mentor Gautam Gambhir has been fined 100 percent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Mr Gambhir admitted to the Level 2 offense under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct,” a statement from the Indian cricket board said.

“Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Virat Kohli has been fined 100 percent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Mr Kohli admitted to the Level 2 offense under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct.”

“Lucknow Super Giants’ Bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has been fined 50 percent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Mr Naveen-ul-Haq admitted to the Level 1 offense under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct,” the official release added.

However, the one question doing the rounds everywhere was what triggered such an ugly verbal spat between two legends of Indian cricket.

The trigger for the war of words between the two Delhi-born cricketers appeared to be LSG batter Kyle Mayers' exchange with the RCB superstar. Their exchange was subsequently interrupted by Gautam Gambhir, who pulled Kyle Mayers away from Virat Kohli.

Additionally, Gautam Gambhir's wild celebrations in RCB's previous encounter with LSG, resulting in a one-run victory for the KL Rahul-led side, angered Virat Kohli. But this time, Virat Kohli shot back at LSG as he celebrated with aggression after RCB defeated the hosts by 18 runs, successfully defending a below-par total of 126.

“You saw on TV that Mayers and Virat were walking side by side for a few metres post match. Mayers asked Kohli why was he constantly abusing them and Virat, in turn, questioned why was he (Mayers) ‘staring' at him? Before that (Amit) Mishra had complained to umpire about Virat constantly abusing Naveen (ul-Haq), who is a No. 10 batter,” an eyewitness told a local news agency.

“Gautam, sensing that things could turn ugly, pulled Mayers and told him not to have a conversation, when Virat made a comment. The heated exchange that followed seemed a bit juvenile,” the eyewitness added.

“Gautam asked ‘Kya bol raha hain bol'(What were you saying?) and Virat replied, ‘Maine aapko kuch bola hi naahin, aap kyon ghus rahein ho' (Why are you coming in between when I haven't told you anything).”

“Gautam responded, ‘Tuney agar mere player ko bola hai, matlab tune meri family ko gaali diya hai. (You abused my player and that's like abusing my family) and Virat's reply was, ‘Toh aap apne family ko sambhal ke rakhiye'. (Then you take care of your family).

“Gambhir's final reply before they were separated was, ‘Toh ab tu mujhe sikhayega…' (So now I have to learn from you…).”

A source who witnessed the events in Lucknow said, “It was expected Kohli would turn up fired up in Lucknow. He was having a go at every LSG player right through the match. Naveen-ul-Haq was also not shying away when Kohli was batting. But things got out of hand during the chase. Kohli was gesturing to the crowd and mimicking Gambhir. And then he said something to Naveen while pointing at his shoe. Naveen was very upset.”

“Mayers wasn't having a cricketing conversation with Kohli. He just went up to Kohli to ask why he was saying unsavory things for a mere stare from Mayers. Gambhir interjected and told Mayers there was no point of (having) a discussion and that irked Kohli further,” the source added.

“I guess after the last match here at the Chinnaswamy where we lost off the last ball, it always felt like we were desperate to get this one. I guess you probably saw a little bit of that boil over,” said Mike Hesson, RCB's director of cricket operations.

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis defended Virat Kohli: “That's the best version of Virat, isn't it? That's when he's at his best. It's awesome to be a part of it. My job is to keep things calm on the field, which I thought we did really well.”

Ex-India coach 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.

Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson was critical of Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli's attitudes, urging them to leave their hatred towards each other on the field and not carry it outside the ground.

“Being competitive on the field is great, I'm all for that. That's where people are at their best… it hones their instincts and focuses their mind. But when that boils over off the field, that's when you got to leave it. On the field, you can have a crack because you're fighting for survival, trying to win and be at your best. Once the game's done, the game's done. Let's just move on,” Shane Watson told The Grade Cricketer podcast.

“What happened with Virat and Gautam Gambhir… no one wants to see that boil over. GG's not even playing!” the former Australian cricketer added.