One of the most talked about incident of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 was the face-off of Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli with Lucknow Super Giants members, particularly mentor Gautam Gambhir and pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. Throughout the match, Kohli could be seen being quite animated whenever an LSG batter was getting dismissed during the chase. After the match ended, the Kohli and Gambhir shook hands and things looked perfectly normal. Then, LSG opener Kyle Mayers walked up to Kohli and started saying something to the RCB great.
It was at this point, Gambhir came and took Mayers away. A little while after this incident, visuals from the match showed Gambhir being quite animated and saying something to Kohli, who seemed to be the calmer person between the two. Other players, including KL Rahul, and support staff separated the two. Then, Kohli was seen having a lengthy chat with LSG captain Rahul.
Mayers recently opened up on the 'banter' that he he had with Kohli during the IPL. "You had a little bit of banter with Virat Kohli in the IPL, what do you think of his aggression in the game?" Kyle Mayers was asked on Fan Code.
"It's great, sometimes you need to get at your opposition, to create any chance to get out of the game. Being aggressive is always good, it shows courage and the willingness to get your team over the line," said Mayers in reply.
Both Kohli and Gambhir were fined after the incident. In its release, the IPL said: "Lucknow Super Giants' Mentor Gautam Gambhir has been fined 100 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
"Gambhir admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct. Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Virat Kohli has been fined 100 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Kohli admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct," IPL said in a press release.