Virat Kohli unfollows Sourav Ganguly on Instagram after handshake controversy in IPL 2023 – Reports

Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Virat Kohli has reportedly unfollowed Delhi Capitals mentor Sourav Ganguly on Instagram. The move came a day after the former BCCI president didn’t shake hands with Kohli after the hosts beat DC by 23 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday (April 15).

Surprisingly, Ganguly jumped the queue to ignore Kohli and proceeded to shake hands with the player behind Kohli. A video of the incident has surfaced on social media.

Take a look:

As per cricketcountry.com, Kohli used to follow 276 accounts on Instagram, including Sourav Ganguly.

Virat Kohli's Instagram account before and after pictures [Pic credits: cricketcountry]

As per reports, Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly didn’t see each other eye to eye during their stint as Team India captain and BCCI president respectively. Interestingly, Kohli stepped down as T20I captain and was subsequently replaced by Rohit Sharma in ODIs during Ganguly’s term as BCCI president.

Speaking to ANI in December 2021, Ganguly said:

"It's a call that the BCCI and the selectors took together. Actually, the BCCI had requested Virat to not step down as the T20I skipper, but, obviously, he did not agree. And the selectors then did not feel it right to have two different captains for two white-ball formats.”

A week later, Kohli made a stunning revelation that there was no communication between him and the selection committee. At a press conference during India's tour of South Africa in 2021, he said:

“There was no prior communication with me at all since I announced the T20 captaincy decision until the 8th of December. I was told that the selectors had decided that I won’t be ODI captain to which I replied, ‘Okay, fine’. There was no prior communication. That is what happened.”

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Virat Kohli in a purple patch in IPL 2023

On the professional front, Virat Kohli has been excellent with the bat in the ongoing IPL 2023. The right-hander has scored 214 runs in four games at a strike rate of 147.58.

The 34-year-old has smashed three half-centuries - against Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals. Kohli will next be in action against the Chennai Super Kings on Monday, April 17.