Without a doubt, the IPL 2023 has been one of the most exciting and tightly contested tournaments ever. The most 200+ totals and chases have occurred this season, with five venues seeing it for the first time in their IPL history.
Nonetheless, it was RCB star Virat Kohli’s involvement in two off-the-field incidents that had the cricket world talking the most. The first saw Kohli refusing to shake Sourav Ganguly’s hand as director of cricket for the Delhi Capitals and was preceded by a viral video showing Kohli giving Ganguly the death gaze. The second incident occurred earlier this month and is known as the “epic spat” between Kohli and Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri issued an ultimatum to Kohli after the two incidents, citing MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar as role models.
Kohli had given Ganguly not one but two sidelong glances during their April 15 Chinnaswamy matchup. Ganguly cut in front of the line to shake hands with Kohli after the game. All is still not well between the two veterans of Indian cricket, as shown by the fact that they unfollowed each other on Instagram; the current episode is only a continuation of what happened in December 2021, when Ganguly was president of the BCCI.
Ravi Shastri sends a stern ultimatum to Virat Kohli citing examples of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar
After RCB’s 18-run victory against LSG at the Ekana Stadium later on (May 1), Kohli got into an argument with Gambhir. In the same game, Kohli and LSG’s Naveen-ul-Haq had an altercation that led to a heated handshake at the conclusion of the game, prompting Glenn Maxwell to intervene.
The events have likely contributed to the cameras focusing more closely on Kohli than usual during the postgame handshakes and interactions with opposing players.
Shastri told ESPNCricinfo that stars like Dhoni and Sachin had to deal with the same thing because of their impact on the game, but that they handled it in an absolutely professional manner. Because of what occurred in Lucknow, he cautioned Kohli to be “careful” and aware of the camera after the match.
“After the sequence of events last week, someone like a Kohli, someone like a Dhoni…Dhoni knows, he’s a pro, that there is a camera on you and that is because you guys deserve it after what you guys contributed to the game. There will be a camera on you, like there was on Sachin Tendulkar. Remember once the game is over, the camera is on you all the time until you get into that dressing room. You need to be careful, it’s like you are flagged off. If you have that in your mindset…camera, and once the game is over, you will be fine. You can get a lot of brownie points using that camera,” he said.
The rift between Ganguly and Dhoni seems to have been healed, as the two were seen shaking hands after the RCB-DC match in Delhi. Many others praised the action on social media as well.
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