Ssshhh... kohli hai: When aggression meets aggression!

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir have been the stormy petrels of Indian cricket Both donrsquot shy away from verbally taking on opponents on the field of play and both have a long history of misdemeanorsThey were colleagues in the Delhi Ranji team and have had issues with each other over the years On Monday night they clashed again after Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium here by 18 runsThe total of 126 is among the lowest defended by an IPL team However the issue of the continued poor quality of the black soil pitch here was overshadowed when Kohli first took on a few LSG players including NaveenulHaq and Amit Mishra on the field and then Gambhir after the match The ruckus was in full view of the spectators and watched by millions of viewers on TV and the internet around the world Both Kohli and Gambhir were fined 100 per cent of their match fee after they were found guilty of a Level 2 offence while NaveenulHaq lost 50 per cent of his match fees for a Level 1 offence All three admitted to their respective offences and accepted the finesAlso Read Kohli vs Gambhir 20 When Gautam sacrificed his POTM award for centurion ViratThe real storySo what was the genesis of this brawlApparently it all started during the match between RCB and LSG on April 10 when LSG mentor Gambhir in an overexuberant celebration put his finger on his lips indicating to the home spectators to remain silent after RCB lost in a thrilling lastball finish That did not go down well with Kohli who in the return fixture was keen to return the favour And as RCB seemed to be defending one of the lowest IPL scores as the home team crumbled under pressure Kohli got increasingly animated The RCB stalwart was seen screaming fistpumping and putting a finger on his lips to then indicate to the crowd who had come in large numbers to support him wearing his No 18 jersey not to keep quiet and to instead keep supporting him This was apparently in reply to Gambhirrsquos shushing gesture after that lastball thriller in BangaloreNaveen Mishra involved tooOn the field Kohli exchanged some harsh words with LSGrsquos Naveen and Mishra and the umpires had to intervene to calm things down Then as the match ended and one thought that sanity would prevail Naveen and Kohli again exchanged some words while shaking hands and as soon as Gambhir pulled away LSG opener Kyle Mayer who had approached Kohli for some technical advice all hell broke loose There was fingerpointing and shouting till a few players including LSG captain KL Rahul pulled them apart It is learnt that Rahul after speaking to Kohli had asked Naveen to apologise to him but his teammate refused This led to a late hearing by match referee Prakash Bhatt following which the BCCI sent out a press release announcing the quantum of fines for the three players without giving out any details any reasonsKohli is one of the biggest youth icons of the country while Gambhir is now a Member of Parliament Both have the responsibility to be an inspiration not only for cricket fans but also the young generation who love and respect the two stars of Indian cricket as a whole However unfortunately and not for the first time both have failed in their responsibility