IPL 2023: “Will make sure Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir hug each other”- Harbhajan Singh

Gambhir and Kohli almost came to blows after LSG v RCB game in Lucknow.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has said that he’ll broker peace between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Gautam Gambhir after they almost came to punches in Lucknow the other day after their IPL 2023 match.

RCB recorded an 18-run win over LSG and the big highlight was Virat Kohli’s intense altercation with LSG’s Naveen Ul Haq in the 17th over, and then was once again seen in a war of words with the Afghan pacer when the two teams shook hands after the match.

Then Kyle Mayers had something to say to Kohli about his gesturing after taking Krunal Pandya’s catch before Gambhir pulled the West Indian aside.

Then Kohli and Gambhir had a go at one another, with Gambhir warning the former RCB skipper against saying anything to his players whom the LSG mentor considered his ‘family’. Kohli then replied to Gambhir and told him to keep his ‘family’ at bay.

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This was when Amit Mishra and other players from both sides intervened and separated the two of them.

On Wednesday, Harbhajan said that he would ensure that Kohli and Gambhir meet and hug each other after the end of the IPL 2023 season.

“I’ll make sure Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir meet and hug each other after the IPL. The fight will end," said the ‘Turbanator’ while speaking on his YouTube channel.

Earlier, Harbhajan Singh had shared his incident of slapping Sreesanth in IPL 2008 and said that he was ashamed of what he did to the fast bowler then and appealed to Kohli and Gambhir to leave their differences aside and work for peace.

“This won't stop here. People will be talking about it, trying to dissect who did what. All this though, is talk on the outside. As someone who has lived through something like this myself. It was something similar that happened between me and Sreesanth back in 2008. Today, 15 years later, I still feel ashamed thinking about it. At the time I felt what has happened as happened, I was right. But no, what I did was wrong,” Harbhajan had said.

"Virat Kohli, you are a legend. There is no need for you to get involved in something like this. But he is such a passionate player that he felt he is involved in the game and it happened. People will try to find out if the mistake is Kohli's, Gambhir's, or Naveen's but this picture that has been made is not good for cricket. You both such big players, both are my younger brothers and it is with this liberty that I say that there is no use of this.

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“I am bringing up my episode time and again because even today when I look back, I think I shouldn't have done that. I regret that a lot. I am sure you both will also think 15 years later why it was that we were fighting. It was a small matter, we could have solved it right there. We should make good memories. Please forget all this, just finish this matter. Meet each other, and give each other a nice hug, cricket is made by you all, kids are watching you and as ambassadors of the game, it is our responsibility to represent it in the right manner. So I hope both my brothers will make up and send out a good message,” said Harbhajan.

Incidentally, all four players in Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Kohli, and Gambhir were part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning team.