In an unexpected turn of events, two of Indian cricket’s biggest names, Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly, did not shake hands after the RCB vs DC match in Bengaluru on Saturday in a viral video
In a viral social media video, Kohli skips the line and refuses to shake hands with Ganguly, whom he believes does not share a good history.
Furthermore, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting was seen speaking with Kohli after the latter avoided shaking hands with DC’s director of cricket.
Virat Kohli refuses handshake with Sourav Ganguly, stares at Ricky Ponting in viral video
Virat Kohli ignoring Sourav Ganguly after today's match ends.pic.twitter.com/JDmYQFzJdz
— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) April 15, 2023
Virat Kohli stares towards Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting after takes the catch. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EmuAzzzzMb
— S. (@Sobuujj) April 15, 2023
The rivalry between Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli is well-known throughout the world. On Saturday, Kohli refused to shake hands with Ganguly after Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Delhi Capitals by 23 runs in IPL 2023, reigniting the rivalry.
Ganguly, a former captain and BCCI President, is the Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket. Kohli, a former India and RCB captain, still plays in the Indian Premier League for the Bangalore franchise.
Both were certain to meet after the game. After the game, both teams’ players and support staff exchanged traditional handshakes. Kohli trailed RCB captain Faf du Plessis, while Ganguly trailed Delhi head coach Ricky Ponting.
Ganguly shook hands with Du Plessis, and when it was his turn to greet Kohli, the latter appeared to refuse, according to a video that went viral on social media. Ponting was seen in the video telling Kohli to shake hands with Ganguly, but the RCB star refused yet again.
Earlier in the game, Kohli gave Ganguly a stare in the Delhi Capitals dugout after the latter took Aman Khan’s catch during the 18th over of the Delhi Capitals innings.
Kohli’s feud with Ganguly began in the summer of 2021, when India toured South Africa. Ganguly was the BCCI president at the time, and Kohli had just stepped down as T20I captain.
Following Kohli’s resignation, Ganguly stated that the BCCI had asked the star batter to continue in the role. In response, Kohli refuted Ganguly’s remarks. Kohli was then relieved of the ODI captaincy. He eventually stepped down as Test captain in January 2022, after India lost the Test series to South Africa.
Chetan Sharma, the BCCI’s former chief selector, recently revealed that ex-BCCI President Ganguly played a minor role in deciding Virat Kohli’s fate as India’s captain across all formats during his tenure. Furthermore, he admitted that Ganguly, like him, disliked Kohli.
Not only that, but Chetan revealed that Kohli was informed about his removal as captain ahead of time, and that the former number one batter lied to the media about it when he arrived in South Africa for the bilateral series in 2021/2022.