Verbal spat between Kohli and Gambhir was just in heat of the moment, recalls Rajat Bhatia

Under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders won two Indian Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014. During his reign as the skipper of KKR, Gautam Gambhir was, unsurprisingly, once involved in a verbal spat with Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli back in the 2013 edition, an incident that gained a lot of traction. The Indian captain was, in fact, appointed as RCB’s captain for the first time ahead of the sixth IPL edition.

Former KKR batsman Rajat Bhatia recalled the heated moment between the two captains, at the Chinnaswamy, as something which just happened in the spur of the moment and that the issue was not taken outside the field.

“That is something which happened when two aggressive captains played and they always want to give their best and win for their respective teams. Even if they had any kind of collision in that match, it was just a part of the game,” Bhatia told Asianet Newsable.

“Later, I have never seen them (Gambhir and Kohli) fighting. In the heat of the moment, so many things happen. But, it shouldn’t be happening for the worse. And on that day, it was not,” he further added.

Speaking about Kohli, Bhatia said that the India captain’s hunger for runs makes him the best batsmen in the world at the moment. 

“The best part about Virat Kohli is he is always hungry to score runs. And, that hunger never looked to end. That is why he is the best batsman at the moment. He knew that he has to perform and never stop,” the former Delhi cricketer said.

“I think this is one of the things every player should learn from Virat Kohli. Every player who plays for the country should remember that he should keep performing. That is what Kohli is doing at the moment,” he further added.