The verbal spat between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir was one of the most-discussed events that occurred in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The altercation happened at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium after the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in an away game. The former RCB skipper had a heated argument with LSG bowler Naveen-ul-Haq before the entire matter got elevated and Gambhir also got involved.
Days after the infamous incident, Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad made a scathing remark on LSG mentor. Speaking on the Nadir Ali Podcast, Shehzad issued a controversial, stating that Gambhir hurt his sentiments by targeting former RCB skipper Kohli following the game in Lucknow.
“As a viewer, as a sportsman, this hurt my feelings a lot. It seemed like Gautam Gambhir was trying to do something out of jealousy. It looked like he was waiting for something to happen so that he can create a controversy with Virat,” Shehzad said on the Nadir Ali podcast.
Apart from lashing out at Gambhir, the out-of-favour Pakistan batter also came out in support of Virat Kohli who also had a heated exchange wo LSG stars Naveen-Ul-Haq and Kyle Mayers. Shehzad said he didn’t like the LSG mentor criticising a star player of his own nation.
“It was really sad to see such an episode. I can understand that Kohli had a fight with the player from Afghanistan (Naveen-ul-Haq) because such things happen in the heat of the moment. But I did not understand why Gautam Gambhir showed such gestures towards the biggest player of his own country, Kohli,” Shehzad added.
In the aftermath of the incident, both Gambhir and Kohli were also penalised by the IPL. The former RCB captain and the LSG mentor were fined 100% of their match fees.
There have also been rumours of an alleged rift between Gambhir and the legendary MS Dhoni for long which the former has quashed in the past. In a recent conversation with News18, the two-time world cup winner has said his rivalry with any player be it Kohli or Dhoni is limited to the field and there’s nothing personal about it.
“See normally I don’t explain my relationships,” Gambhir said, “This question has been asked to me regarding MS Dhoni too – How is my relationship with MS Dhoni? I share the same relation with MS Dhoni as it’s with Virat Kohli.”
“My fight with Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni or any other player isn’t personal. My fight is limited to the field. We both want to win. And it should stay on the field,” he added.
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