Gautam Gambhir makes bold statement on Kohli-Naveen-Ul-Haq spat during IPL

Gautam Gambhir has been making headlines in recent days for his ugly spat with S Sreesanth during Legends League Cricket match in which Sreesanth alleged that Gambhir called him a 'fixer' and now, the former Indian cricketer has opened up on his post-match altercation with Virat Kohli during IPL 2023.

Gautam Gambhir defends his actions from RCB vs LSG post-match incident

When Gautam Gambhir was questioned about the fight, he discussed it candidly on the ANI podcast. The former Indian opener claimed he had every right to defend his players following the game and that no one could come and walk over them.

EP-120 with Gautam Gambhir premieres on Saturday at 5 PM IST

"No one can come and walk over my players," Gautam Gambhir on Naveen-ul-Haq controversy#ANIPodcastwithSmitaPrakash #GautamGambhir #Dhoni

Tune in here: https://t.co/LLgzRg3fCS pic.twitter.com/mHhRROyn4S

— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2023

“As a mentor, no one can come and walk over my players and I’ve got a very different belief. Till the time game was on, I had no right to interfere but once the game was over, if someone still gets into a heated argument with my players, I’ve got all the rights to defend them,” said Gautam Gambhir.

What happened between Gambhir-Kohli?

It all began with an altercation between LSG's Naveen-ul-Haq and Virat Kohli during the 16th over of 2nd innings during IPL match between RCB vs LSG . The star batter for the RCB, Virat Kohli, was not pleased with what Naveen-ul-Haq said to him when he approached him. Amit Mishra of LSG intervened to defuse the situation, but he ended up getting into a fight.

Virat Kohli and LSG coach Gautam Gambhir later engaged in a heated discussion about what happened on the field during the game. Attempts to calm Gautam Gambhir down and remove him from the ground were met with an angry expression from the LSG mentor. Even after Gautam Gambhir was shown all the details by Virat Kohli, the veteran player was still not impressed.

What's next for Gambhir?

Following the conclusion of IPL 2023, Gautam Gambhir left Lucknow Super Giants as a team mentor and joined his previous IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor. Gambhir had previously led KKR from 2011 to 2017, winning two titles.