More information about the altercation between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli has come to light with former Indian players and coaches commenting on the waves spreading in its aftermath.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri has offered to mediate between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir to help them sort out their differences.He said the best method to resolve any conflict is to make Kohli and Gambhir sit down and “put an end to it”.
Another former India coach Anil Kumble said such emotions should not be displayed openly and any antipathy and rivalry should vanish after the match.
"I don't know what was said, some things may have been personal. That's something you don't want on the cricket field. Both with Virat, Gautam and whoever was involved, it wasn't the nicest thing to see," he said.
Opinions about what happened are divided among those who were present after the IPL game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants, when the two World Cup-winning players got into an argument.
An eyewitness, who was in one of the team dug-outs, told PTI that Mayers and Virat were walking side by side after the match. Mayers reportedly asked Kohli why he was sledging them during the game and Virat, in turn, questioned why was he (Mayers) 'staring' at him. Before that, (Amit) Mishra had also complained to the umpire about Virat constantly abusing Naveen (ul-Haq), who batted at No 10 for Lucknow.
Kohli was also involved in a heated exchange with Naveen during the match and later during the post-match handshakes Naveen refused to shake Kohli’s hand.
"Gautam, sensing that things could turn ugly, pulled Mayers and told him not to have a conversation, when Virat made a comment. He then got into an argument with Kohli," the source said.
Recalling the dialogue, the source said, "Gautam asked 'Kya bol raha hain bol' (What were you saying?)” and Virat replied, “Maine aapko kuch bola hi naahin, aap kyon ghus rahein ho (Why are you coming in between when I haven't told you anything?)”
"Gautam responded, 'Tuney agar mere player ko bola hai, matlab tune meri family ko gaali diya hai. (You abused my player and that's like abusing my family) and Virat's reply was, 'Toh aap apne family ko sambhal ke rakhiye'. (Then you take care of your family).
"Gambhir's final reply before they were separated was, 'Toh ab tu mujhe sikhayega…' (So now I have to learn from you…)," according to the eyewitness.
The duo had nearly come to blows in 2013, when Kolkata Knight Riders were playing Royal Challengers Bangalore as well.
Both players have been fined their full match fees although no one knows how a mentor's penalty is computed by the BCCI.
Kohli’s support for Rahul was also noted by netizens. He and RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj checked in on the injured Super Giants skipper and won the hearts of many fans.
Rahul sustained a hamstring injury while chasing a ball near the boundary rope in the match against RCB. He didn't field after that incident in the game and only came out to bat in the final moments, purely out of necessity.