Virat Kohli was at his best during an event recently, where he touched on different topics including burying the hatchet with Naveen Ul Haq and his hug with Gautam Gambhir recently during the IPL 2024.
Notably, the trio was focal point of a huge controversy in the IPL 2023 during a match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Naveen and Kohli had a verbal spat, while Kohli and Gambhir, who was then LSG's mentor, almost came to blows after the match.
However, during the ICC World Cup 2023, Kohli and Naveen hugged each other and ended their feud. And in the recent IPL 2024, Gambhir was seen hugging Kohli during a match between RCB and KKR.
During a recent event, Kohli spoke about his relationship with Gambhir and shared some funny anecdotes to entertain the fans. The crowd went wild when Kohli referred to Gambhir as ‘Bhai’ during the event. The crowd could not hold back their emotions and gave a rapturous ovation to it.
IPL 2024: WATCH- Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir hug it out during time out in RCB v KKR match
Listening to the same, Kohli said people are unhappy with his behavior as he has patched up with both Naveen and Gambhir. This meant that the fans had nothing left to fight amongst.
“Log bahut disappoint hue hai, mere behavior se. Naveen ke saath maine jhappi daal li. Fir Gauti bhai ne aake mereko jhappi daal li. Logon ka masala khatam ho gaya,” Kohli said at an Asian Paints event in Mumbai.
Kohli also discussed other things and shared funny anecdotes about who were the funniest guys in the team at the moment. He named the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Suryakumar Yadav.
But the crowd went wild when Kohli talked about Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan and their friendship.
Kohli said: “Aaj kal toh sab bade chatpate ladke hai saare. Unke life ki motivation hi hasi majak hai. Bahut maja aata hai sabke saath khelne mein. Kuldeep, Yuzi bahut shararti hai dono. Surya bahut funny hai. Sita-Geeta, Ishan aur Shubman. Wo tour pe akele nahi reh sakte. Khana khane bulao, baat karne bulao, saath mein hi ayenge. Kabhi maine dekha hi nahi, dono akele ho. Genuinely bahut acche dost hai dono.”
The show anchor Gaurav Kapur then asked Kohli about his and Rohit Sharma’s journey so far in the Indian team. He reminded Kohli that both of them have now played international cricket for 15 years. Kohli also spoke about what they both talk now and what knowledge they attempt to impart to the youngsters.
Kohli said that he and Rohit only tell the newcomers to recognize and respect the opportunity they have now to prove themselves. He revealed when he and Rohit broke into the Indian team, they knew they had 4-5 matches to prove themselves and cement their places.
There was no social media and fan clubs to push the player's case by creating a narrative that injustice is being done to a certain player who is talented.
Kohli said: “Kabhi jab aapke paas bahut opportunity hoti hai, you are not respectful or recognize the magnitude of the opportunity. When we talked (rohit and me), 4 match, zyada 5 match uss team mein youngsters ko itna hi milega.4-5 match mein prove kar sakte ho toh ruko, varna jao.
Us time aisa nahi tha ki aap mahual bana sakte ho, aapke fan clubs hain jo mahaul bana rhe hain ki mere player ke saath bura ho gaya. You were only dependent on your skill and that's how we proved. If i dont perform, no one is keeping me because my supporters feel I m good player, or there can be sort of a narrative in public or in media.”
“So today if someone asks me how have you played for 15 years, mujhe lagta hi nahi hai ki 15 saal ho gaye. kyunki jo aapka perspective pehel din tha, looking this as an opportunity, wo aaj bhi hai. Jab tak aap kheloge, tab tak rahegaa. That's how we have grown up. That's what we discuss and tell youngsters to recognize the platform and opportunity you are getting and give full respect, wherever you play,” Kohli added.
