"Nothing Personal": Gautam Gambhir Opens Up On Verbal Spat With Virat Kohli During IPL 2013

After captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for seven seasons, Virat Kohli stepped down from the role of skipper after IPL 2021. While the former India captain is still part of the RCB contingent, the franchise signed Faf du Plessis in the mega auction and revealed him as the new skipper ahead of IPL 2022. Kohli is someone who is known for his tough attitude on the field, not ready to give an inch to the opposition. Someone who was made of the same mould is Kohli's former India teammate Gautam Gambhir. During the 2013 season of IPL both Kohli and Gambhir were involved in a verbal spat. Little short of a decade later, Gambhir spoke about the incident.

Speaking to Jatin Sapru on the latter's YouTube channel, Gambhir opened up about the incident and said that he didn't hold anything "personal" against Kohli.

"That's okay, I am absolutely fine with it and I expect him to be like that. I am like that. I like that contest, I like people who are competitive. MS Dhoni is a competitor in his own way, Virat is a competitor in his own way. Sometimes when you are leading the side, you have to do it even if you don't want to do it because you want your team to play the way you want. As a leader, sometimes you are not thinking about personal relationships with the other guy (but) just because you are leading a team, you have to do it", said Gambhir.

"That's why there was nothing personal (then) and there never will be personal against Virat Kohli. And I say it again and again that what he's achieved, I am absolutely not surprised. That's the kind of player he was when we saw him early but what he's transformed into, I think from a fitness point of view and the way he's worked on his skills is tremendous", he further added.

IPL 2022 is scheduled to begin on March 26 and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will face KKR in the season opener. Meanwhile, RCB will have their first match on March 27, against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Topics mentioned in this article

Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata Knight Riders Gautam Gambhir Virat Kohli IPL 2022 IPL 2013 Cricket