Veteran England pacer Graeme Swann gave his take on the on-field altercation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir during the Indian Premier League match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The cricketing icons of Indian cricket had a heated exchange after the match as both of them were fined their 100 per cent match fees.
It all started with an on-field altercation between Kohli and LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq during the second innings of the match. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan pacer was also seen in an animated exchange during the post-match formality after RCB earned the points on offer. Kohli was also seen in a verbal exchange with Kyle Mayers before LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir ushered the West Indies all-rounder away. But, things took a turn for the worse as Gambhir squared up against Kohli and the spat ensued.
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Swann said that both Kohli and Gambhir are big personalities and they are not going to back down against each other. He also suggested that such altercations are good for the cash-rich league.
“Having playing cricket throughout my life, sometimes emotions do boil over on the field. You know what, it’s good for the league if they do. You should never try and dilute the players so much, that they don’t wear their hearts on their sleeves. One of the reasons why Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli because he is so passionate about his cricket. He is so in your face that it intimidates a lot of players. And yet, there will be some players who will think that it goes too far. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli will always have their thing going. They are massive personalities, who grew up playing together. So, Gautam is never going to back down to Virat. That made me laugh. I thought it was brilliant,” Swann told NDTV.
The former English spinner said he doesn’t have any problem with the players showing aggression on the field as long as they shake hands after the match and left the matter on the field itself.
“It’s good show the passion. It’s good that Fast bowlers are bowling and then staring at batsmen. It’s also good if the fast bowler gets the batsman out and waves him goodbye. I have no issue with that. As long as after the game there is handshake and there is no bad image getting carried on screen. Then I am all for passion on the field. Trust me having played Ashes all my life, this is nothing compared to them,” he added.
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