IPL 2023: Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Naveen ul Haq punished after the heated altercation in Lucknow

Virat Kohli, the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain, and Gautam Gambhir, Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) mentor, have been fined 100% of their match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. Both players have admitted the Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct. Additionally, LSG bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has been fined 50% of his match fees for a Level 1 offence, following a verbal altercation with Kohli during the 17th over of Lucknow’s run-chase.

Kohli was involved in a heated exchange of words with Gambhir after the match. LSG captain KL Rahul tried to pull Gambhir away from Kohli, but they still managed to get within touching distance of each other. Kohli attempted to calm Gambhir with some words, but Gambhir remained agitated. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis then intervened to try to control the situation.

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#ViratKohli This is the moment when whole fight started between Virat Kohli and LSG Gautam Gambhir
Amit Mishra
Naveen ul haq#LSGvsRCB pic.twitter.com/hkId1J33vY

— Mehulsinh Vaghela (@LoneWarrior1109) May 1, 2023

Meanwhile, RCB director of operations Mike Hesson has admitted that some of the needle stemmed from the two teams’ first meeting at the ongoing IPL. “I guess after the last match at the Chinnaswamy, where we lost off the last ball, it always felt like we were really desperate to get this one. So I think you probably saw a little bit of that boil over tonight,” Hesson was quoted saying in the post-match interview.