‘Gautam Gambhir is never going to back down to Virat Kohli’: Former England spinner

Kohli and Gambhir, later, faced heavy sanctions and were fined 100 percent of their match fees for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct.

Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir, center, congratulates Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli ,left, after Kohli's team won the match during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket, in Lucknow. (PTI)

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Ever since the ugly spat between former RCB skipper Virat Kohli and LSG Coach Gautam Gambhir broke out during the Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2023 match on May 1, the cricketing fraternity has been divided with opinions. While some have criticized the two and others have called upon both players to move on from the episode.

However, there’s one former international who reckons that cricket “would be dull” if there were no on-field “conflicts” and found nothing wrong with Gambhir and Kohli’s behaviour.

Former England off-spinner Graeme Swann thinks that the two World Cup champions should move on and act with dignity off the pitch.

“You should never try to dilute the players so much that they do not wear their hearts on their sleeves,” Swann told PTI.

“One of the reasons Virat Kohli is ‘Virat Kohli’ is because he’s so passionate about his cricket. He’s so in your face when he’s playing and he intimidates a lot of players. Some may think he’s going too far. They are massive personalities, who grew up and played together,” he added.

Speaking about Gautam Gambhir, the cricketer-turned-commentator said the LSG mentor is not the one to back away.

“Gautam is never going to back down to Virat. If it spills over off the field and there’s swearing stuff then that’s wrong. As long as there are handshakes after the game and have not created a bad image on the screen, then I’m all for their passion,” he added.

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Kohli and Gambhir, later, faced heavy sanctions and were fined 100 percent of their match fees for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct.

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