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Watch: Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir shake hands, side-hug in friendly IPL reunion

Watch: Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir embraced each other during the second Strategic Timeout during the RCB-KKR clash
by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

Watch: Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir embraced each other during the second Strategic Timeout during the RCB-KKR clash in the 2024 IPL today (March 29).

The history between Gambhir and Kohli is well known, with matters getting heated up last year when the two Delhi players needed to be separated from each other. Gambhir, who is currently the mentor of Kolkata Knight Riders, and Kohli, who is opening for RCB, have shared a strained history over the years, with things going out of hand last season.

Gambhir, who was then the mentor of Lucknow Super Giants, asked the Chinnaswamy crowd in Bengaluru to “shut up” with a shush gesture after their win against RCB last year. Kohli, who is always ready to give it back, reciprocated the gesture following RCB’s win at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow’s home ground. Following the heated match, Gambhir and Kohli were at each other’s throats, leading to major drama.

Ahead of today’s game, an old video of Gambhir was doing the rounds, where the left-hander revealed how he was always eager to RCB. He also said the franchise had plenty of “attitude” despite not winning a single IPL title.

Gambhir, who returned to his former team KKR ahead of the season, seems to have put aside his differences with Kohli as the two were seen embracing each other during the clash. Gambhir walked out to the field during the Timeout and walked towards Kohli, before extending his arms to him. The two then put their hands on each other’s backs and were having a conversation, leading to Ravi Shastri, who was commenting to quip, “Oh, good to see. The crowd went quiet though [seeing the two hug]. They wanted action.”

Kohli was unbeaten on 83 as RCB made 182-6 in the clash batting first.

This is not the first time in recent months that Kohli has extended a friendly hand to a player he has a history with. During the ODI World Cup last year, Kohli requested the crowd in Delhi to stop booing Naveen-ul-Haq, a player he had a tussle with previously.

Watch the moment here:

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