Toh ab tu mujhe sikhayega: Kohli-Gambhir’s eyewitness testimony

The entire cricketing community is denouncing the verbal altercation between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli during Match 43 of the IPL 2023 between the Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Lucknow, and the scandal doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. After RCB’s 18-run victory, tensions erupted on the field as the two sides were sharing pleasantries, and Kohli and Gambhir engaged in a heated argument.

In a timely manner, the IPL’s regulatory body took action and penalized both sides 100% of their match fees for violating Article 2.21 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. An eyewitness has provided his description of what truly happened on the pitch in response to speculation made by fans across the world as to what precipitated the two former India teammates engaging in physical altercation.

“You saw Mayers and Virat strolling side by side for a short distance after the match on television. Mayers questioned Kohli about why he was humiliating them, and Virat questioned Mayers about why he was “staring” at him. The Economic Times cited a witness who was in one of the team dugouts as claiming that before that, (Amit) Mishra had complained to the umpire about Virat repeatedly abusing Naveen (ul-Haq), who is a No. 10 batter.

“When Virat said something, Gautam drew Mayers aside and advised him not to talk to him because he thought things would go ugly. The argument that ensued seemed a little childish,” he observed.

“Kya bol raha hain bol” (What were you saying?) was Gautam’s question. “Why are you coming in between when I haven’t told you anything,” Virat retorted. “Maine aapko kuch bola hi naahin, aap kyon ghus rahein ho.”

“Tuney agar mere player ko bola hai, matlab tune meri family ko gaali diya hai, Gautam said. (You mistreated my player, which is the same as mistreating my family), to which Virat responded, “Toh aap apne family ko sambhal ke rakhiye.” You (then) tend to your family.

Gambhir said, “Toh ab tu mujhe sikhayega… (So now I have to learn from you…)” before they were split apart.

Kohli can be heard saying, “That’s a sweet win, boys,” in a video that RCB posted on their official social media pages after their victory. Sweet victory. You must accept what you can provide. Don’t give it if not.

RCB earned their fifth victory of the year during the second innings of the game, and Kohli was seen fired up and animatedly celebrating every wicket. Even after taking a catch to dismiss Krunal Pandya, he reportedly muted the fans in response to Gambhir, who reportedly made a same gesture during LSG’s exciting victory over RC in their first meeting of the season.

Notably, Kohli and Gambhir were previously observed arguing with one another during the IPL 2013 match between RCB and KKR. When Kohli was dismissed during the game, Gambhir, the KKR team’s captain at the time, said something to him. The RCB captain was offended by the remark, and the two engaged in another furious argument before Rajat Bhatia broke them apart.