Gautam Gambhir opened up on his on-field spat with Virat Kohli during last year’s IPL.
Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, the star Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter, had a friendly reunion this year after both met in the Indian Premier League following an ugly spat last year. Gambhir and Kohli had a heated exchange during RCB’s game against Lucknow Super Giants – Gambhir’s previous franchise where he also served as a mentor – and since then, there was significant speculation ahead of RCB’s first match against the Knight Riders this year.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s player Virat Kohli and Kolkata Knight Riders’ mentor Gautam Gambhir (L) greet each other at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on April 21, 2024. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP) / — IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE –(AFP)
However, crushing all the rumours over their camaraderie, Kohli and Gambhir shared a heartwarming hug during the match and also had a light-hearted chat. As RCB met KKR again last week, the duo had a lengthy chat ahead of the game, too, with the latter putting a video of the same on their official social media platforms.
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Kohli had a rather interesting reaction over the hug with Gambhir; in a public event, the RCB batter sarcastically stated that fans were “disappointed” that he was friendly with Gambhir. “People are very disappointed with my behaviour. I hugged Naveen, and then the other day, Gauti bhai [Gautam Gambhir came and hugged me. Your masala is over so you’re booing. We’re not kids anymore,” he said during an event organised by Asian Paints earlier this month.
As the rivalry finally seems to have come to an end, Gambhir also opened up on the hug and made a rather strongly-worded remark on the speculations over his relationship with Kohli. The KKR mentor stated that while he would continue to be “competitive,” his relationship with Kohli will remain private.
“It’s all about TRPs. Media has got no clue what kind of a person I am, or Virat is. All media wants to do is create TRPs and create that hype,” Gambhir told Sportskeeda.
“I still believe I’m very competitive and I’ll continue to be competitive whichever team I’m against. That’s my view of playing the game. It’s up to media on how they want to portray that. At the end of the day, it’s up to the two mature individuals on what they think about each other, and it is between the two of them.”
On Kohli’s ‘Masala’ remark
Gambhir also passed a chuckle on Kohli’s comment following the hug, insisting that he agrees with his former India teammate. The former KKR captain added that whatever happened between the two of them ended on the field and wasn’t dragged off it.
“Ultimately, he has the right to be competitive, and so do I. Many people talked about it unnecessarily, those who haven’t even touched a cricket bat. They just wanted to increase followers and get into the limelight. They haven’t played cricket or lived a cricketer’s life.
“The incident happened, it got over, whatever was there was during the match. What Virat said, I absolutely second that. People didn’t get the ‘masala’, and that’s all right. When two people are mature enough, I don’t think anyone has got any right to interfere in their relationships.”
