Sourav Ganguly’s ultimate act of respect for Virat Kohli during RCB vs DC a year after the handshake incident

A year ago, during the IPL 2023 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (then Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the actions of Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly during the match suggested that there was nothing wrong between the two everything was fine. The two reportedly even unfollowed each other on Instagram later. But on Sunday, at the same venue, Ganguly paid his ultimate respect to the former RCB star after the home team’s 47-run win against DC.

The rift between Kohli and Ganguly was no secret. In 2021, a month after retiring from T20I leadership, Kohli was removed from ODI captaincy. This decision sparked a war of words between him and the BCCI government, then led by Ganguly. The veteran Indian batsman later relinquished his role as Test captain in January 2022, marking a significant shift in the dynamic between the two.

A year later, during IPL 2023, Kohli gave DC cricket director Ganguly a death stare as he walked past him during the match between RCB and DC. The former India opener later skipped the queue to avoid a handshake with the RC batter after the end of the game.

But in the second leg at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi later in the tournament, Kohli and Ganguly decided to bury the hatchet with a post-match handshake.

A year later, the equation between the two remained the same as Ganguly paid his ultimate respect to Kohli after RCB’s emphatic home win against DC. As the players and staff of both teams gathered for the post-match handshake ritual, Ganguly took off his cap before meeting Kohli and even congratulated him when the latter responded with a ‘thank you’ and a smile. The former India captain later donned his cap as he met the rest of the RCB players.

The win against DC was RCB’s fifth consecutive win in the ongoing IPL 2024 tournament, which moved them to the fifth position in the points table and kept them alive for the playoff race. Delhi, who were without Rishabh Pant for the game after being banned by the BCCI for violating the IPL code of conduct, slipped to sixth place.