Punjab Kings (PBKS) spinner Harpreet Brar has revealed the story behind Virat Kohli’s infamous “20 saal ho gaye” jibe at him, during an IPL 2025 match between PBKS and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Punjab Kings had made 157/6 thanks to 33 by Prabhsimran Singh and 31* by Shashank Singh. Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma took two wickets each for RCB.

In response, Virat Kohli made 73*, while Devdutt Padikkal made 61 runs as RCB cruised to win by 7 wickets. During the match, there was a heated confrontation between Kohli and Harpreet Brar.

And a video surfaced on social media, where Kohli was heard telling Brar: “20 saal ho gaye cricket khelte hue, aise stump thodi na ho jaunga. Tere coach ko bhi jaanta hoon (I’ve been playing cricket for 20 years, I’m not going to get out like that. I even know your coach).”

Now, Harpreet Brar has revealed the story behind this confrontation in a podcast with Harleen Deol. Brar, speaking in Punjabi, revealed that captain had told all the players in the outfield to throw the ball on one bounce.

“I always feel blessed that I played well against him. That wicket is a huge memory for me. It was an afternoon game, and the captain had asked us to make one-bounce throws," Brar said on a podcast with Harleen Deol.

When he threw a ball to Marcus Stonis, he got confused whether to take the ball on the full or let it bounce before gathering it, and Virat Kohli gave a stern look to Harpreet, who was standing at point. Harpreet recalled that he could see Kohli staring at him from the non-striker’s end. 

“Everyone was doing it, and Virat said nothing to anyone. I made a proper throw, but Marcus Stoinis got confused. He took a step back because he was not sure whether to catch it directly or after one bounce," Brar added.

“That is when Virat looked at me," Brar said.

Brar also mentioned that he could sense Kohli staring at him. However, the former opted to avoid making eye contact in the hopes that the tension would subside after the over was over. When Brar got the ball in his hand for the next over, it was then that Kohli uttered his famous line to him.

“I thought once the over ended, he would forget about it. But no. When I was about to start my run-up, he came to me and said, ‘It has been 20 years.’ I told him, ‘You’re taking it the wrong way," Brar said.

“I did not throw it intentionally. We were just trying to reverse the ball so it would help in the death overs.’ Eventually, though, the game never even went till the death overs," Brar added. 

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