The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw multiple thrilling and nail-biting matches it also witnessed a new beginning of the new rivalry between the former India captain Virat Kohli and Afghanisthan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. Both of them were involved in a heated argument during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Supergiants (LSG)
Later, LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir was also involved in the argument and the two Delhi-based players were embroiled in a spot during IPL 2013, however, this wasn’t their first on-field argument. Meanwhile, veteran Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad recently talked about the incident and backed Kohli by saying that Gambhir was the reason behind the incident.
“By what I saw, it was really sad. I can understand what happened on the field between that Afghanistan player (Naveen) and Virat Kohli. These things happen, but what you can’t understand is why would Gambhir target a player of his own country, who is right now the world’s biggest player. The gestures he showed against Kohli were not right,” said Shehzad.
“Our perception as viewers have changed as our feelings have gotten hurt. It seemed as if Gambhir tried to create something out of jealousy. IPL has a brand and if any Indian superstar is being said something by someone – in this case Naveen – it means that there is hatred spread inside the dressing room. Only then does a player get the confidence to go and misbehave,” Shehzad was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
We have seen in the past as well: Ahmed Shehzad
Shehzad claimed that Gambhir had problems with Kohli earlier as well and he is jealous of Kohli’s success. Shehzad said that Kohli is a legend of the game and Gambhir should respect him. He also recalled the moment when Gambhir shared his Player of the Match award with Kohli and said that Kohli didn’t ask him to share.
“We have seen in the past as well that Gambhir has had problems with Kohli. I think he is jealous of Kohli and looking for an opportunity to pick up controversy with him. I have never seen anyone misbehave with Kohli. He is a legend of the game and you should respect him. And after that, he is giving excuses,” suggested the former Pakistan batter.
“He said that he once shared his Player-of-the-Match award with Kohli. Did Virat ask you to? Or do you think that by giving him your award, you’ve earned the right to misbehave with Kohli for the rest of your life? It doesn’t work that way,” Shehzad added.
