Gautam Gambhir Not Giving 'Masala', Says 'Country Doesn't Need to Know' His Relationship With Virat Kohli

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli’s on-field relationship has been well documented with the two Indian stars clashing in the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. In the recently concluded edition, Gambhir as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mentor ‘hugged it out’ with Kohli as the ‘masala’ has been seemingly put to rest.

Shreyas Iyer-led KKR, under the guidance of Gambhir, thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to win their third IPL title. After the triumph, Gambhir emerged as a frontrunner for the Indian men’s cricket team’s head coach job and replace Rahul Dravid after the 2024 T20 World Cup.

In a recent interview, Gambhir opened up his relationship with Kohli.

“The perception is far away from the reality. My relation with Virat Kohli is something this country doesn’t need to know. He has as much right as I do to express himself and help our respective teams win. Our relation is not to give masala to public,” Gambhir told Sportskeeda.

Earlier, Kohli had recalled his ‘viral’ hug with: “People are very disappointed with my behaviour. I hugged Naveen, and then the other day, Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) came and hugged me. Your masala is over so you’re booing. We’re not kids anymore.

The on-field flare-ups between Gambhir and Kohli are well-documented but the two seemed to have moved on from their past rivalry. The duo was seen hugging each other after a match between KKR and Royal Challengers Bengaluru and a clip of them having a lively chat went viral on social media.

A BCCI source recently revealed that the Gambhir-Kohli bust-up has come to an end.

“If people are talking about Gambhir’s friction with Virat Kohli, it can be confirmed that the two have always got along well off the field,” the source added. “Even after the bust-up during an IPL match last year, the two were made to sit down and sort out any issue if they indeed had one.”

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