'There was definitely fire in Virat's belly': Watson's chilling first-hand account of Kohli-Ganguly 'no handshake' saga

Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly didn't shake hands following RCB's win over Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023 last week.

The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals last week drew controversy when it seemed Virat Kohli, the RCB batter, and DC's director of cricket Sourav Ganguly were at loggerheads. The duo didn't shake hands following RCB's convincing victory in the game and a day later, it was reported that Kohli had unfollowed the former Indian captain on Instagram. Furthermore, it seemed Ganguly had returned the favour on the same social media platform inside the same week.

Still from the Kohli-Ganguly 'no handshake' incident (IPL)

The seeming rift between two of Indian cricket's stalwarts has its roots from the time when Kohli had been leading the Indian team under Ganguly's tenure as BCCI President. It seemed the 34-year-old Indian batter's decision to step down as Team India captain didn't fit well with Ganguly as well as then-chief selector Chetan Sharma; Kohli was later removed as ODI captain as well, and merely a month later, the batter also stepped down from the leadership role in the longest format of the game.

As the two stars of Indian cricket met last week at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, tensions between the two seemed evident. Kohli shook his hand with Ricky Ponting and had almost proceeded to skip Ganguly before the DC head coach stopped him for a brief chat. Ganguly, too, ignored Kohli and walked past the duo, continuing to greet the other members of RCB.

Amid the reports of rift, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, who is currently part of the Delhi Capitals team management as their assistant coach, was asked to clarify the situation between the two on ‘The Grade Cricketer’ podcast. While Watson refused to divulge into the details, he admitted that Kohli looked like he had “fire in his belly.”

“It could be rumour mongering, but I'm not sure. So, it's not something I want to get involved in,” Watson said before bursting into laughter, as he was asked about Kohli and Ganguly.

“But there was definitely some fire in Virat's belly, that's for sure. For an opposition point of view, that's the last thing you need as well. Virat, when he's like that, that's when he's at his absolute best. Whatever reason that was, I'm not exactly sure,” Watson further said.

Ganguly was succeeded by Roger Binny as BCCI President in October last year, allowing the former India captain to rejoin the Delhi Capitals team management ahead of the 2023 edition. Kohli, meanwhile, continues to remain an integral member of the Indian team across ODIs and Tests; the batter, alongside Rohit Sharma, is yet to take part in a single T20I since the World Cup last year.