‘Gautam Gambhir is never going to back down to Virat Kohli’: Swann's fresh perspective on ugly IPL 2023 fight

Almost all the former cricketers and experts criticised Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir for their heated on-field exchange during the Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2023 match on May 1 but not Graeme Swann. The former England off-spinner is of the opinion that cricket "would be dull" if there were no on-field "conflicts". Gambhir and Kohli, who have a long history of on-field differences, were involved in an altercation after RCB beat LSG by 18 runs. Both of them were found guilty of IPL Code of Conduct and were docked their full match fees. Another LSG cricketer, Naveen-ul-Haq, who too was involved in a brawl with Kohli, was slapped with a 50% fine.

Swann found nothing wrong in the way both Kohli and Gambhir reacted but added that the two World Cup winners should move on and be respectful off the field. "You should never try to dilute the players so much that they do not wear their hearts on their sleeves," Swann told PTI. "One of the reasons Virat Kohli is 'Virat Kohli' is because he's so passionate about his cricket. He's so in your face when he's playing and he intimidates a lot of players. Some may think he's going too far. They are massive personalities, who grew up and played together," he added.

Sharing his thoughts on Gambhir, against whom Swann has played a lot of cricket during his playing days, the cricketer-turned-commentator said the LSG mentor is not the one to back away. "Gautam is never going to back down to Virat. If it spills over off the field and there's swearing stuff then that's wrong. As long as there are handshakes after the game and has not created a bad image on the screen, then I'm all for their passion," he added.

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Swann also added that the Gambhir-Kohli on-field fight was "nothing" compared to what he has witnessed during an Australia vs England Ashes Test series.

"Let's face it, if there was never any conflict in sport, it would be so dull. Having played Ashes test series throughout my life, this is nothing compared to that," he said.

Gambhir and Kohli do appear to have moved on from the incident. And to be honest, the two never spoke ill of each other even after their multiple on-field fights previously.

The same, however, cannot be said about Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. The right-arm seamer who had heated arguments and an intense shake of hands with Kohli, has kept social media on tenterhooks with his stories. He did not name Kohli or RCB in his posts but his two posts came exactly after Kohli was dismissed and then RCB was defeated by MI, which got fans thinking that the LSG cricketer may be taking an indirect dig at Kohli.