Published: Jun 29, 2023, 09:10 AM (IST)
Edited: Jun 29, 2023, 09:10 AM (IST)
New Delhi: IPL 2023 witnessed one of the most infamous spats in cricketing history after Virat Kohli got involved in a heated exchange of words with Naveen-ul-Haq and Gautam Gambhir during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants. However, this wasn’t even the first on-field dispute between the two Delhi-based cricketers, they were previously involved in a spot during IPL 2013 as well.
Now former Pakistan opener has alleged Indian legend Gautam Gambhir’s jealousy as the reason behind his disputes with the megastar Virat Kohli. He even accused Gmabhir of polluting the minds of youngsters of Lucknow Super Giants and looking for reasons to pick a fight with Kohli.
“By what I saw, it was really sad. I can understand what happened on the field between that Afghanistan player (Naveen) and Virat Kohli. These things happen, but what you can’t understand is why would Gambhir target a player of his own country, who right now the world’s biggest player. The gestures he showed against Kohli were not right. Our perception as viewers has changed as our feelings have gotten hurt. It seemed as if Gambhir tried to create something out jealousy. IPL has a brand and if any Indian superstar is being said something by someone – in this case Naveen – it means that there is hatred spread inside the dressing room. Only then does a player get the confidence to go and misbehave,” Shehzad said on The Nadir Ali podcast.
Shehzad accused Gambhir of being jealous of Kohli’s success and told him to apologize. He said “We have seen in the past as well that Gambhir has had problems with Kohli. I think he is jealous of Kohli and looks for an opportunity to pick up a controversy with him. I have never seen anyone misbehave with Kohli. He is a legend of the game and you should respect him. And after that, he is giving excuses. He said that he once shared his Man-of-the-Match award with Kohli. Did Virat ask you to? Or do you think that by giving him your award, you’ve earned the right to misbehave with Kohli for the rest of your life? It doesn’t work that way.”
“I feel he hasn’t been able to digest the respect and success Kohli has achieved. What he has achieved in such a young age, Gambhir couldn’t achieve it his entire career. If you’re really a big player, or big at heart, this shouldn’t be your gesture. You should realise your mistake, and apologise to him. I have never seen a staff from the management jump in a tiff between two players,” he added.
