Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Gautam Gambhir and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli were involved in a heated exchange during the recently held IPL season.

It all happened after Kohli engaged in an ugly spat with Naveen-ul-Haq during the LSG versus RCB clash on May 1 in Lucknow.

After the game, Gambhir was seen approaching Kohli aggressively with his players and the two had an animated chat. Before the matter could have gone out of hand, both of them were separated by the players and support staff members.

The altercation created quite a stir in the cricket fraternity and it continues to draw attention even after three months.

In an exclusive interview with The Week, legendary India cricketer Kapil Dev said the fight between Gambhir and Kohli didn’t put BCCI in any good light and it was ‘painful’ to watch.

“They (BCCI) have to groom players to be good citizens also. What happened between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli in the IPL, it was painful for me," Kapil stated.

“My two most important people―Virat Kohli, one of the top batters in the world; Gambhir is now member of Parliament―how can they behave in such a manner? But sportsmen do lose their mind, from Pelé to Don Bradman to all people," he added.

Things certainly looked ugly in the middle and all three involved were reprimanded by the match referee. While Kohli and Gambhir were fined 100% of their match fees, Naveen copped 50% penalty for breaching the IPL code of conduct.