How It Started vs How It's Going: The Entire Tale Of Kohli-Ganguly Spat
Kohli-Ganguly spat takes an ugly turn [Twitter]
They say birds of the same feather flock together, meaning we humans generally share a great relationship with those who live their lives with a similar ideology as ours. We tend to consider them as our best friends, who follow a similar cognitive route as ours while dealing with real-life situations.
However, sometimes, congruent ideologies collide, giving rise to differences that eventually break a friendly bond.
In the history of Indian cricket, there have been several instances of ugly spats between teammates as well as captains and coaches. However, the recent clash between Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly could be the most unfortunate and surprising of them all, as it has not only hampered the country's image as a cricketing nation but also divided the Indian fans into two halves that can't be united ever again.
So how it all started, and how sour has it become now? Let's travel back in time to solve this mysterious puzzle.
The synopsis of Kohli-Ganguly tussle
When Sourav Ganguly took over the baton as the BCCI president, the Indian fans anticipated a healthy relationship to nurture between him and the then-Indian skipper Virat Kohli, as both are driven by passion and aggression. Everything seemed to be pretty fine between these two stalwarts until Kohli's epic slump arrived, eventually making him the most unwanted name in the eyes of many, including Ganguly.
Coincidentally, his personal rough patch collided with some undesirable results, as India lost the WTC final before facing a shambolic group-stage exit in the 2021 T20 World Cup. To make matters worse, Ravi Shastri, the then-Indian coach and Kohli's most-trusted ally, left the dressing room, with Ganguly's former teammate and dear friend Rahul Dravid eventually taking over as his successor.
Once Dravid joined, the call for a new leadership group, an idea which was apparently proposed by the BCCI president Ganguly, intensified. As far as Kohli is concerned, he was interested in stepping down as the T20I captain and leading in the rest two formats. But by that time, he had lost the trust of not only the BCCI boss but also several of his own teammates. As a result, he had no option other than quitting captaincy across formats.
Chetan Sharma's viral video discloses the ugly truth
On 14th February, a renowned media house released the findings of a sting operation conducted on the then-BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma. The video spread like fire, rising curtains from several ugly truths, including the Kohli-Ganguly saga.
In a certain clip, Sharma claimed how the ego clashes between Kohli and Ganguly soured their relationship, eventually costing the former his captaincy. Furthermore, it was clear from the clip that Ganguly didn't really want Kohli to continue as the Indian captain anymore and somewhere used his power to fulfil his desire.
Kohli unfollows Ganguly: The end game
After Sharma answered the unanswered questions in the video, the recent incident where Kohli and Ganguly didn't shake hands after an IPL 2023 game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals proved that all is not well between them. A day after the match, Kohli even went on to unfollow the former Indian captain on social media, clearing all doubts, if any.
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