Veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra dropped a few bombs during a podcast, as he shared details from some of the most controversial incidents in Indian cricket. Mishra shared the inside details from the Virat Kohli vs Naveen-ul-Haq battle during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, revealing how the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter abused the Lucknow Super Giants pacer. Mishra even suggested that though everything seems normal between the two on social media, it would be difficult for Naveen to respect Kohli after after that IPL incident. Now, Naveen has responded to Mishra’s remarks.

“For social media, it all seemed to be over between them. But do you think Naveen will respect Kohli ever again? What about the youngsters who saw the incident where a big star was abusing others,” Mishra had said on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast “Unplugged”.

Naveen, who is playing for the Texas Super Kings in USA’s Major League Cricket, reiterated that all is well between him and Virat, with the IPL clash only being a ‘heat of the moment’ incident.

“That was just the heat of the moment during the match and nothing personal. And I and Virat Kohli both have forgotten and in the ODI World Cup, we finished, hugged and we moved on from that. But social media nowadays keeps these things going on and on,” Naveen said in a video shared by the Texas Super Kings.

Naveen’s connect with the king kohli! #WhistleForTexas#AllYouNeedIsYellove#CognizantMajorLeagueCricket#MLC2024 pic.twitter.com/qshjxUpN5r

— Texas Super Kings (@TexasSuperKings) July 17, 2024

Mishra, who is one of the top wicket-takers in the Indian Premier League, had revealed that Virat abused many LSG players during the IPL 2023 clash, after supposedly getting triggered by Gautam Gambhir‘s ‘finger on lips’ gesture during the reverse fixture in Bengaluru.

“He started abusing our players (in the LSG vs RCB rematch in Lucknow). He didn’t have any grudges with Kyle Myers but he abused him as well. Naveen-ul-Haq was bowling, he would abuse him too. A lot of things would have been avoided but Kohli chose not to,” the former Indian leg-spinner had said.

Kohli himself hasn’t yet spoken on the matter.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign produced some fiery clashes on the field, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru superstar Virat Kohli taking on Lucknow Super Giants’ Naveen-ul-Haq. The clash between the two spiralled on beyond the match, with LSG coach Gautam Gambhir also throwing himself in the altercation. Gambhir and Kohli had a heated argument that prompted forced their teammates to intervene. Now, Lucknow spinner Amit Mishra has revealed what exactly was the reason behind such an explosive clash that season.

In a chat during a podcast on YouTube, LSG’s veteran spinner Amit Mishra revealed that the story started a few matches before in Bengaluru when Lucknow mentor Gautam Gambhir had done the ‘finger on mouth’ gesture towards Bengaluru fans.

“It all started in Bengaluru where we (LSG) won the game and Gambhir expressed his aggression. The public was going mad so Gautam gestured them to keep quiet. Probably Virat Kohli didn’t like that. We thought the matter ended with the game but not for Kohli,” Mishra said.

Kohli, according to Mishra, was probably not happy with Gambhir’s gesture and started to abuse LSG players when the two teams met again. Mishra said that Virat could’ve avoided certain things but he chose not to.

“He started abusing our players (in the LSG vs RCB rematch in Lucknow). He didn’t have any grudges with Kyle Myers but he abused him as well. Naveen-ul-Haq was bowling, he would abuse him too. Bohot cheezein avoid ho sakti thi but Virat Kohli ne nahi ki (a lot of things would have been avoided but Kohli chose not to).

Kohli even had an altercation with Mishra when he was batting with Naven in the middle. As Mishra tried to calm things down, Virat told him to explain the same to Naveen, not him.

“When I was batting with Naveen, I asked Kohli, ‘Who are you even talking to He’s just a youngster and not even close to your stature. Whatever happened has happened.’ He answered back, saying, “You make him understand that, not me.”

As per Mishra, Virat didn’t calm down even after the match concluded and continued to abuse Naveen, this is when Gambhir decided to intervene.

“But the problem began after the game. He (Kohli) started abusing him again during the customary handshakes. That’s when Gambhir intervened, questing why are you starting it again when the game has ended and you guys have won. I moved Gambhir away but Naveen later came to the dressing and said that Kohli started abusing again,” he added.

While Kohli and Naveen seemed to have buried to hatchet, having played against each other on multiple occasions since the incident, Mishra doesn’t thing the Afghanistan pacer will ever respect the Team India batter again.

“For social media, it all seemed to be over between them. But do you think Naveen will respect Kohli ever again? What about the youngsters who saw the incident where a big star was abusing others,” Mishra wondered.

India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma made a special appearance at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club to watch the men’s singles semi-finals of the ongoing Wimbledon. Rohit was pictured near courtside and was seen wearing an olive suit with tean brown tie and leather shoes. Last month, Rohit led India to just their second T20 World Cup title, and first in 17 years. In the final, India beat South Africa by 7 runs in Barbados. 

Just over a week after the Indian players celebrated the T20 World Cup success with the fans in Mumbai, Rohit was spotted watching the Wimbledon semi-finals.

As pictures of Rohit standing near the Centre Court went viral, IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) poked fun at the Indian skipper with a hilarious post on Instagram.

“Skipper himself in the garden,” RCB captioned the post.

For the unversed, Rohit made the word garden his patent after he urged the Indian youngsters not to roam in the ground during the Test series against England earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Rohit attended the first semi-final between Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz at the centre court on Friday.

After winning the T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the 20-over format. The Men in Blue got hold of the prestigious T20 WC trophy for the second time, defeating South Africa by seven runs in Barbados on June 29.

With 4231 runs in 159 games, Rohit is the format’s best scorer going out. He also owns the record for most hundreds (five) in T20 internationals. He has won two T20 World Cups: the first in 2007 while competing and the current one in 2024 as captain.

Alcaraz advanced to Wimbledon 2024 men’s singles final after beating Medvedev 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

The defending champions will now take on four-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets the other semi-final.

(With ANI Inputs)

Former cricketers Manoj Tiwary and Munaf Patel extended wishes to former India captain Sourav Ganguly on his 52nd birthday. Ganguly, who was regarded as the ‘God of Off-side’ by former teammate Rahul Dravid, made many spectacular contributions in the field of cricket and continues to do so as Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket. “You are, you were and you will always be an inspiration. Love you Dada and wishing you a very happy birthday,” Tiwary wrote on X.

While extending his wishes, Patel heaped praise on Ganguly for his role in the development of Indian cricket.

“A big hand of this guy in development of #IndianCricketTeam where we are today. A very #HAPPYBIRTHDAY legend @SGanguly99. Wishing you healthy life ahead #Dada,” Patel wrote on X.

During his illustrious career, Ganguly led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during his time in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL franchise wished their former captain and captioned their post on X, “Maharaja. Dada. The Prince of Kolkata. Happy Birthday, Sourav Ganguly.”

Even though he was a batter who could play with both grace and surgical accuracy, his career had come to a grinding halt until he struck a brilliant hundred on his debut at Lord’s in 1996. He was elevated to the top of the ODI order later that year, and he and Sachin Tendulkar together constituted one of the most potent opening combinations in history.

Ganguly was noted for his distinct leadership style throughout his time on the pitch. In the summer of 1996, he made his Test debut against England, earning the nickname ‘Dada’. He quickly made headlines after scoring a century in his first Test at Lord’s and the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ then went on to smash a ton in the second Test, becoming the third batter in history to make a hundred in each of his first two innings.

You are, you wer and you will always be an inspiration!!

Love you Dada and wishing you a very happy birthday @SGanguly99 #HappyBirthdayDada #SouravGanguly pic.twitter.com/GOrhAdU8S8

— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) July 7, 2024

A big hand of this guy in development of #IndianCricketTeam where we are today.

A very #HAPPYBIRTHDAY legend @SGanguly99

Wishing you healthy life ahead #Dada#SouravGanguly#HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/Kd5Wub0CDS

— Munaf Patel (@munafpa99881129) July 8, 2024

Maharaja. Dada. The Prince of Kolkata.

Happy Birthday, Sourav Ganguly! pic.twitter.com/cEuBQDq0DG

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) July 8, 2024

From Taunton to Lords, Sourav Ganguly conquered it all. He personified the early signs of Indian aggression.

Today we wish the Warrior Prince, Dada of India Cricket, a very happy birthday! #PlayBold #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/kBVhVOUoCk

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) July 8, 2024

Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik will be the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting coach and mentor. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, on Monday, announced the recently retired Dinesh Karthik as its batting coach and mentor.

As a player, the former India wicketkeeper-batter had two different stints with RCB, with the most recent being from 2022 to 2024. During this period, RCB reached the IPL Playoffs twice, in 2022 and 2024, and the 39-year-old played an instrumental role both times.

In 2022, he excelled in his role as a finisher, accumulating 330 runs in 16 innings at a strike-rate of 183.33, a performance that earned him a place in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia. In 2024, he scored 326 runs in 13 visits to the crease, at a phenomenal rate of 187.35.

An astute mind, Karthik has already made a mark as a fine commentator and broadcaster, and he will now be part of a coaching team that comprises head coach Andy Flower, bowling coach Adam Griffith and director of cricket Mo Bobat.

RCB trolled Jofra Archer after India beat England to reach the T20 World Cup final.© AFP

Dinesh Karthik in action for RCB© AFP

Dinesh Karthik opened up on the times he played against Virat Kohli in IPL.© BCCI/IPL

Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull has revealed that he has been receiving death threats for his criticism of India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli. While the cricketer-turned-commentator has often labelled Kohli as the greatest batter of his generation, he also doesn’t shy away from criticising him whenever he needs to. As an observer of the game, Doull was one of several former players who had criticised Kohli for his batting strike rate during the initial phase of IPL 2024.

Kohli had also voiced his anger over the criticism of his batting approach, saying that he doesn’t like people to tell him how to construct him, considering that he has been winning games for over a decade.

While RCB’s wait for an IPL title continued, Kohli ended the season as the highest run-getter. He scored 741 runs in 15 matches at an average of 154.7.

During a discussion, Kohli’s RCB teammate Dinesh Karthik suggested that the star batter thrives in such situations as he likes to prove his critics wrong.

“Virat Kohli would like to write a book on how he was this year. He started okay. Thanks to people like Simon (Doull) and a few others who really spurred him on. And you know that side of Virat Kohli. I think that he thrives on that. He is someone who inadvertently holds on to certain things to do well. He loves people proving wrong. Even though he might not come out and say this, it really fuels his passion. He is like a molten lava coming out. He is fiery and you don’t want to be anywhere close to him because you are going to get burnt for sure,” Karthik on Cricbuzz after the IPL 2024 final with Doull also part of the discussion.

Doull emphasised that nobody really cares when he praises Kohli, but a minor criticism of the star batter often leads to him getting death threats from the so called fans

“He’s too good to worry about what if he gets out. He’s too good a player, and that was always my point around him. I said a thousand great things about Virat Kohli, but I say one thing that might be slightly negative or construed to be negative, I get death threats,” Doull pointed out during the same discussion.

Doull further suggested that he has nothing personal against Kohli as he often speaks to him before or after the games.

“It’s never personal. We’ve had great conversations. I’ve interviewed him at tosses, we’ve talked after games, there’s never been an issue. It’s the same thing I said about Babar and talked to him after the game. He also told me that the coach had said that same to him,” he added.

Karthik condemned the death threats against Doull, urging the Indian fans to find the difference between constructive criticism and someone taking personal jibes.

“That’s pretty sad to hear though…You go to basketball, football games and you see pundits speak about the game. I think the Indian fans should really find out the difference between people taking it personally or people talking about his cricketing side. Virat really appreaciates that,” Karthik asserted.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru stalwart batter Virat Kohli was “extremely proud” after clinching the Orange Cap and was “pleased” to see his performance in the second half of the tournament. RCB crashed out of the tournament after suffering a four-wicket defeat in the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals. The Challengers were down and out in the race for the final four. They were mathematically in the race and needed to win their six group-stage clashes with other results falling in their favour.

With Kohli leading the charge with the bat, RCB won six on the trot, ended CSK’s title defence and made the cut for the playoffs.

Kohli won the Orange Cap for scoring most runs in the 17th edition of the cash-rich league. He scored 741 runs in 15 matches at an average of 61.75, with a century and five fifties. His best score was 113* and his strike rate stood at 154.69, the highest it has ever been for Kohli in a single IPL season.

“Extremely honoured to win the orange cap this season. It was a rollercoaster of a ride. I was really pleased with the way I performed for the team, especially in the latter half, where we needed to win every game to qualify. Thank you everyone for your support,” Kohli said after being crowned as the winner in the post-match presentation.

While Kohli walked away with Orange Cap, his former teammate and Punjab Kings pacer Harshal Patel won his second Purple Cap.

The crafty pacer concluded the tournament with 24 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 9.73 and an average of 19.87.

He won his first Purple Cap in 2021 during his time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru by bagging 32 wickets in a single season.

He became just the third pacer after Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dwayne Bravo to win two Purple Caps in the history of the IPL.

Harshal thanked the team as well as his family for their support and is looking forward to the next season.

“Deeply honoured to be presented with the purple cap. It’s been a rewarding journey. I want to thank my teammates, coaches and my family. I look forward to the 2025 season,” he concluded.

Kolkata Knight Riders mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy had the opportunity to surpass Patel in the final of the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chepauk.

He needed a five-wicket haul to surpass Patel in the leading wicket-takers list. However, he ended up with the sole wicket of Shahbaz Ahmed as the Riders marched on to lift their third IPL title.