"Cricket images that hit hard" - KKR shares picture of Virat Kohli's intense stare seemingly directed at Gautam Gambhir

The X handle of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has shared an image of Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, which has gone viral on social media. In the picture, Kohli is seen staring intensely, and the camera angle makes it appear as if his look is directed at Gautam Gambhir.

The Kohli vs Gambhir rivalry has been one of the most intense and controversial battles in the Indian Premier League over the years. The duo had an ugly altercation in IPL 2013. Kohli, after being dismissed in the game, was walking back to the dugout when he briefly stopped to have a heated exchange with Gambhir.

In IPL 2023, when Gambhir was Lucknow Super Giants mentor, he had another huge verbal fight with Kohli over an on-field tussle between the RCB batter and LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq.

On Friday, March 29, Kohli and Gambhir will be in opposite camps yet again when Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Kolkata Knight Riders in match number 10 of IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Gambhir was appointed the KKR mentor ahead of IPL 2024. It may be recalled that he was the Kolkata franchise captain when they won their two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.

On Friday, KKR's X handle shared a couple of pictures of Kohli and Gambhir being caught in the same frame. The intense images were shared with the caption:

"Cricket images that hit hard."

Interestingly, the caption by Kolkata Knight Riders by accompanied by a cold face emoji.

RCB have played two games in IPL 2024 so far. They went down to defending champions Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in their opener at the Chepauk.

In their second game, they beat Punjab Kings by four wickets in a thriller at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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Gambhir takes a dig at RCB ahead of IPL 2024 clash

Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the RCB-KKR IPL 2024 clash, Gambhir took a dig at the Bengaluru franchise and questioned their attitude. He commented that RCB haven't won anything but still behave as if they have won everything.

"One team which I wanted to beat every time, probably even in my dreams, was RCB. Probably the second most high-profile team, flamboyant team with the owner and with the squad - Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers.

"Honestly, not won anything, still thought that they won everything, that kind of attitude, and I can't take that," Gambhir told Star Sports.

KKR began their IPL 2024 campaign with a four-run win over SunRisers Hyderabad in a high-scoring clash at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.