Virat Kohli shares cryptic post after ugly spat with Gautam Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli shared a cryptic post on his Instagram Story a few hours after his verbal spat with Gautam Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq went viral on social media.

RCB beat the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs in Match 43 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 in Lucknow on Monday, May 1. The low-scoring game was, however, marred by ugly duels - first between Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq and later between Kohli and LSG mentor Gambhir.

On Tuesday morning, even as cricket fans and experts continued to discuss the hot topic, Kohli took to his social media handle to share a philosophical post. He shared a quote from Marcus Aurelius, which read:

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq had a heated exchange of words during the 17th over of LSG’s innings. Leggie Amit Mishra and the on-field umpires separated the players, but the RCB batter was visibly peeved and even had a chat with the umpires over the same.

Things did not end there. When players from the two teams shook hands after the end of the game, Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli had another go at each other.

In another viral video that surfaced after the match, the LSG pacer refused to have a chat with Kohli, who was involved in a conversation with Lucknow captain KL Rahul.

The ugly post-match scenes also involved a charged-up Kohli and an infuriated Gambhir having a go at each other until they were separated.

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Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir handed 100 percent fines for altercation

Both Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were fined 100 percent of their match fees for a level 2 breach of the IPL Code of Conduct.

As per a report in Cricbuzz, both cricketers were found to be in violation of Article 2.21. The article covers: (a) public acts of misconduct; (b) unruly public behavior; and (c) inappropriate comments which are detrimental to the interests of the game.

Kohli and Gambhir were involved in a verbal tussle during IPL 2013 as well. At that time, Gambhir was leading the Kolkata Knight Riders and Kohli was the RCB captain.

Meanwhile, LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq was also fined 50 percent of his match fee for a level 1 breach of the same Article.

Speaking of the match, RCB batted first and posted 126/9 on a tough batting surface. LSG were held to 108 in the chase.