On Monday, May 1, a dispute emerged during IPL 2023 match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Virat Kohli of the RCB and Naveen-ul-Haq of the LSG got embroiled in a fight at the end of the match at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
When the players from both teams shook hands after the game, there was another heated exchange between them. However, the controversy did not end there. Kohli and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir were seen teasing each other in a post-match video that went viral. The pair had to be separated as tempers flared up.
The Gambhir-Kohli battle in the IPL, on the other hand, is nothing new. The T20 league has had its fair share of disputes and controversies throughout the years.
Here are five fights from IPL history that made headlines.
1) Gambhir vs Kohli – Part I
During the 2013 IPL, Gambhir and Kohli had an infamous altercation.
The event occurred during the 12th match of the season between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Lakshmipathy Balaji dismissed Kohli for 35 runs.
Kohli appeared to be annoyed by some of the KKR fielders’ chatter and engaged in a conversation with them. Things heated up further when Kolkata captain Gambhir charged at Kohli. A verbal fight began.
One of the on-field umpires, KKR outfield Rajat Bhatia, then interfered as Kohli stormed off.
2) When MS Dhoni lost his cool
MS Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), is known as ‘captain cool’. However, there are instances when MSD too loses his cool. One such event occurred during the 2019 IPL season when the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faced the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur.
Dhoni was out on the third ball of the last over while chasing 152, as Ben Stokes threw a yorker. CSK required eight runs from three balls. On the fourth ball, there was a lot of misunderstanding since a no-ball was granted based on height.
However, the decision was overturned because the square-leg umpire disagreed with it. An enraged Dhoni stormed out to the middle and had an argument with the umpires.
3) Another no-ball controversy, this time Pant loses it
Another major no-ball issue occurred during the IPL 2022 season when RR faced the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
In a high-scoring game, DC needed 36 runs from the final over. Obed McCoy’s first two deliveries were smashed for sixes by Rovman Powell. The third one was similarly sent over the ropes, but it was a high full-toss.
Powell thought it was too high and asked the umpires to look for a no-ball, but they declined. The decision of the umpire enraged skipper Rishabh Pant, who was seen motioning to his batters to leave the pitch in protest. Shardul Thakur, the all-rounder, was also unhappy.
4) When Pollard ‘threw’ his bat at Starc
During the 2014 IPL season, Kieron Pollard (MI) and Mitchell Starc (RCB) got into a furious dispute during a match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Left-arm seamer Starc bowled a bouncer at Pollard in the 17th over of MI’s innings, which the batsman attempted to hook but missed. The bowler had a message for Pollard.
On the next ball, Pollard backed out as Starc ran into the bowler. The seamer, on the other hand, finished his delivery and delivered one towards the batter’s legs. Pollard, enraged, flung his bat at the bowler. Fortunately, the bat did not strike the Australian pacer as it slipped out of his hands and fell to the leg side.
Starc later run out Pollard and baited him to make his ground, despite the fact that he was trapped far outside his crease.
5) Slapgate
The IPL’s first controversy happened in its inaugural season in 2008. During a game in Mohali, Harbhajan Singh of the Mumbai Indians (MI) slapped Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) bowler S. Sreesanth. The episode became known as ‘Slapgate’. A video of Sreesanth weeping made the news.
Harbhajan Singh, who was suspended for the rest of the IPL 2008 season, has expressed sorrow over the event in previous years. In fact, while discussing the Kohli-Gambhir fight, he brought up “Slapgate” in his most recent YouTube video. He stated:
“When I look back on my incident with Sreesanth, I always think that I should not have done it. I regret that incident very much. You should try to make good memories. I think that these two need to forget what happened today itself and finish the matter. Just meet and talk and resolve this.”